The Buckingham Herald Tribblog

The HeraldTrib Has Moved!

2009-09-29T20:26:00.004-05:00

I finally started to use the new web site.

I think it's easier to read and I'll be able to do more with it as time goes on. Go check it out and let me know what you think of it. --ST

buckinghamheraldtrib.com

A Night at the “Instrument Petting Zoo”

2009-09-19T05:35:00.007-05:00

Cellist and teacher Jonathan Velsey helps Claire Walker with her fingering. (Click to enlarge the image.)

A squeaking, blurbing, squawking, hooting, whistling, clarinet, tuba, cello, violin, flute, sax and drum delight of a night, the annual “instrument petting zoo”—as one school staffer phrased it, and he might have placed emphasis on “zoo”—brought parents and school kids from all Arlington to Thomas Jefferson Middle School’s basement Tuesday.

Students tried out, tried on, tested, stood, stared, bowed, fingered, slid, plucked, blew, and—occasionally—listened through a one-stop-shopping night of orchestral abundance. Since Internet storage is cheap, I’ll add that they laughed, measured, chatted, scratched, bleated and boomed.

Billed as the “Instrumental Music Information Night,” the Arlington Public Schools event was aimed primarily at 4th and 5th graders who can join the schools’ orchestras and bands this year.

School orchestra and band leaders with upper-class students, gave the elementary school kids quick lessons on how to hold, blow or strike the instrument in order to fit the student to the right size—a full-, or half-sized violin, for instance.

Sales and rental information was also available (rentals going first, and at reduced prices, to the families who need financial assistance most). Students handed in forms at the end of the night with their top three preferences. The schools make the choices about who gets which.

Christopher Wall, a 4th grader at Taylor Elementary School, was new to the school and the opportunity to get these music lessons, his mom, Beth, said. She added, he wanted to come to try the violin and the “kello.”

It’s a 30 second video of the night, enjoy:

Welcome Back and See-ya, Mis Amigos!

2009-09-16T09:27:00.005-05:00

Amigos de las Américas volunteers, staff and hopefuls break the ice by holding hands and then "untying" the knot of people without letting go of each other. That's Sarah King, center. (Click to enlarge the image.)

A group, about 25 people, gathered under the Lubber Run Park pavilion Sunday afternoon to celebrate the return home of volunteers in the Amigos de las Américas program, and to recruit the next batch for nine-months of training before next summer's trip.

“We had 23 volunteers go down this summer, and all 23 came back!” said Sarah King, laughing. She is the president of the DC chapter of the national group.

The volunteers are at least 16 years old and have completed their sophomore year of high school as well as at least two years of Spanish instruction. After nine months of training in development, public health and organizational leadership, students go to countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

“They work with partnering organizations [such as CARE or a country’s health administration] in the countries that they’re in,” Ms. King said.

They live with a person in a specific village and help with community-based initiatives. Arlington Public Schools sent six students this summer:

From HB Woodlawn:

Megan Hauptman

Caitlin Levine

Washington-Lee:

Dylan Warburg

Yorktown:

Rachel Hargreaves

Hayley Tyneson

Brooke Huffman

“Arlington county schools give us a lot of kids,” Ms. King said. Often half the students are from Arlington.

Family information sessions: Oct. 4, 3-5p.m.; Oct. 18, 1-3p.m. at Oyster Bilingual School, 2801 Calvert St. NW, Washington, DC, two block west of the Woodley Park Zoo metro station.

More information:

click here.

Email here: volunteer *at* amigosdc *dot* org.

Call 202-331-4999.

This was one of those times when I was caught unawares, as they say. I had no notebook, and only my cell phone to shoot photos. No Arlington students were at the event when I was there, or I'd have shot photos of them. I was watching my kids, though, so I only caught about 10 minutes of the event. --ST

For "Local Foods, Local Chefs," Dining Out Starts TONIGHT!

2009-09-16T08:06:00.008-05:00

Dine at participating Arlington restaurants and enjoy a dinner made with locally grown ingredients. Supporting local vendors strengthens our local economy. But supporting local farmers goes even further. You’ll be helping to keep farmland in production and your food is fresher when it was just picked the day before.

Each of the restaurants below will feature a dinner on their designated night that was make with locally grown ingredients.
Sept. 16--Liberty Tavern, 3195 Wilson Blvd.
Sept. 17--Santa Fe Café, 1500 Wilson Blvd.
Sept. 22--Willow Restaurant, 4301 N Fairfax Dr.
Sept. 23--Tallulah Restaurant and EatBar, 2761 Washington Blvd.
Sept. 29--Eventide Restaurant, 3165 Wilson Blvd.
Oct. 6--Restaurant Vero, 5723 Lee Hwy.
Oct. 13--Restaurant 3, 2950 Clarendon Blvd.

To keep your brain as full as your belly, come to our series of film viewings and discussions at Fairlington Community Center (3308 S Stafford St.)
Sept. 30--"The True Cost of Food"
Oct. 7--"The Garden"
Oct. 14--"FRESH"

Local Foods, Local Chefs is sponsored by Arlington County, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Clarendon Alliance, Ballston-Virginia Square Partnership, Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, Crystal City Business Improvement District, Rosslyn Business Improvement District and Slow Food DC.

Support local farms! Support local chefs! Enjoy delicious food! Doing the right thing never tasted so good. For more information call 703-228-6400 or click here.

Virginia's Grand Military Band Schedule Starts Saturday

2009-09-16T07:57:00.003-05:00

All performances will be at the Kenmore Middle School Concert Hall, 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington.

Saturday Sept. 19, 8:00 p.m.
Old-Fashioned Concert in the Park
Family Favorites and Toe-Tappers.

Saturday Nov. 7, 8:00 p.m.
U. S. Army Night
Special Guests: The Herald Trumpets of "Pershing's Own,"
The United States Army Band, and the West Point Alumni Glee Club

Saturday Jan. 16, 8:00 p.m.
Col. Gabriel Conducts His Favorites
Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel, USAF ret, joins Maestro Schissel on the podium.

March/April Concert date to be announced.

Saturday May 29, 8:00 p.m.
Memorial Day - March Past
The VGMB's traditional Memorial Day tribute to our Armed Forces.

Tickets for individual concerts are $20 for adults, $10 for those under 18. Season tickets are $75 each. For information, call Ken Stegeman at (703) 281-3331 or click here.

Letter: Thanks!

2009-09-16T07:49:00.000-05:00

Steve,

Thanks for the update on Buckingham!

Jane Scruggs

HeraldTrib Today, Sept. 13, 2009

2009-09-13T05:35:00.012-05:00

"APS Snapshots" debuts for new schools head honcho...

I watched the new superintendent of Arlington Public Schools on his “APS Snapshots” video. (I missed it on TV, so I had to turn to the APS website, find it here; I had to download it in order to see it).

"APS Snapshots" first episode. (Click to enlarge the image.)

The press release for the video says that it was to be a view inside the school system, and this one wasn’t that really, more a welcome back speech.

“I’ve really emphasized the importance adults play in students’ lives, in building positive relationships,” Dr. Pat Murphy said in the two minute, 24 second address.

He started his run as the schools’ chief in July after long-time superintendent Robert Smith retired.

This is Mr. Murphy’s first video for the weekly series.

One little irony: After saying that any achievement requires a plan somewhere behind it, he added, “One is: get organized.” It is important for children to collect their materials and find a quite space to complete homework and to stay on top of assignments. Parents can help with daily reminders or nudging children to organize their academic lives and establish a routine.

There was no “Two.”

(I mean, if you’re going draw up a plan about planning and you say, “One,” shouldn’t you say, “Two”? If not, you sound disorganized!)

I’m looking forward to next week’s episode and am even hoping for a little more meat. It’s a great bully-pulpit, the superintendent should use it. I’d love to get some behind-the-scenes footage, or a clearer understanding of decisions.

According to the APS Web site, “APS Snapshots” is filmed and produced by the Arlington Educational Television Department (AETV) in cooperation with the Arlington Public Schools Department of School and Community Relations.

You can see “APS Snapshots” on Comcast Cable Channel 70 and Verizon FiOS Channel 41. Snapshots aired: 10:51 a.m.; 11:25 a.m.; 12:56 p.m.; 6:24 p.m.; 6:55 p.m.; and 10:27 p.m., and Frank Bellavia, a spokesperson for the schools, said the times it may run in the near future “is fluid.” I’ll try to keep you posted.

B'ham high schoolers to present at Housing Commission, County Board...

Buckingham Youth Brigade members at a June meeting. (Click to enlarge the image.)

The Buckingham Youth Brigade will present its report on immigration and affordable housing to the Arlington County Housing Commission next Thursday and then to the County Board on Saturday Sept. 26.

The group of high schoolers took on the task of interviewing immigrants, their families and random people in Buckingham as part of a larger research project answering the question, “Who are Arlington’s Immigrants?”

The idea for the 12 page report started at the end of last year during the county’s “Diversity Dialogues.” The group’s findings boil down to three major recommendations: improving access to services for immigrants; improving affordability in housing; and preventing racism and promoting understanding.

I’ll have a larger story on this the week after next.

The BYB is funded by and supported through the BU-GATA Tenants Association. The report was funded by BU-GATA and the Arlington Community Foundation Education Trust.

Champagne, pizza and missed names...

This story was edited to include the names I missed. --ST

There’s nothing quite like a wine-and-cheese function at an arts space to just make you feel creative and energized. The third Creative Arlington meeting in the Tiffany Gallery of Arlington Arts Center on Thursday did just that. Didn’t hurt that the cheese was on pizza provided by Liberty Tavern and the wine was a sparkling Italian champagne.

I like Creative Arlington, started by Ashton Heights civic association former president Ted Bilich.

Ted Bilich in the Tiffany Gallery. (Click to enlarge the image.)

The group aims to bring the different “creative classes” in Arlington together to create a stronger economy. The idea is to have a community online (find it here—it’s open to everyone, even people without arts degrees) that meets regularly in person to mingle, exchange ideas, and to see if some synergy can be created.

County board member Mary Hynes, Arlington Independent Media President Maurice Martin, planning commission member Terry Serie and about 25 others were there.

I was not planning on covering this, just went for the fun, but at the last minute, I tried. Cell phone photos, notes called into voice mail, and I missed a name: that of the Doorways representative. It was Kerri (Kerry? Carrie?) Something. Coming back off a hiatus is always way harder than I think it will be. (If Kerri Something wants to let me know her real name, I would love to post it.) Took a few hours, but she is: Kerry Goldstein, Donor Relations Manager for Doorways.

Stephen Fedorchak of Liberty Tavern was there, and he and Ms. Goldstein talked about just the sort of relationship Creative Arlington is trying to make.

Doorways is a shelter for abused women and children; Liberty Tavern is upscale food at moderate prices. They share a building in Clarendon.

The two have worked very closely, and Doorways has changed its philosophy of how it works with companies after its experience with Liberty Tavern.

“We want to work with you…It’s not just about writing a check,” Ms. Goldstein said. She said they now ask, “How can we help you, to get your name out, to get your word out?”

Returning that sentiment, Mr. Fedorchak said, “A restaurant is uniquely positioned to feed those children in a nourishing ways.”

Mr. Fedorchak’s business will be expanding into the former Murky Coffee building at the corner of Wilson Blvd. and N. Fairfax Drive in Clarendon. He said they plan to keep it a coffee shop, with expanded hours and menu.

He said they plan to “Tri-brand” a coffee—Counter Culture, Doorways, and whatever his coffee company will be called (he’s taking suggestions)—and $1 per bag of that coffee will go to Doorways.

Doorways recently started the PAWS animal rescue shelter with Caring Hands Animal Hospital for the pets of abused women—women often won’t leave without their pets, for fear that the pet will take the abuse.

“We’ve had one animal in our animal shelter so far, and unfortunately, he tore the thing to shreds, so we had to start over again!” she said, laughing.

My two cents: the new coffee shop should be called "Gitcher Coffee."

The Week’s Headlines…
As always, you can scroll down to see all the recent stories, or simply click the links below (if the link doesn't work, scroll down to find the story, and email to tell me what's busted: heraldtrib@gmail.com --Steve Thurston).

Headlines since the last HeraldTrib Today:

Buckingham Villages Update, A Summary

Police Notes Sept. 3 to Sept. 11

Police Notes Aug. 27 to Sept. 2

Police Notes Sept. 3 to Sept. 11.

2009-09-13T04:20:00.007-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

Sept. 2: Destruction of Property (Series), 4100 and 4200 blocks of N. Henderson Road. Between 2a.m. and 7a.m. an unknown subject vandalized at least two vehicles by damaging the windows. There is no suspect description.

Sept. 2: Assault and Battery, 500 block of N. Oxford St. At 4p.m. a man was assaulted by a known subject.

Sept. 3: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 3900 block of N. Pershing Dr. At 6p.m., one man punched another during an argument. Milburn Burton, 48, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery and held on a $2,500 bond.

Sept. 6: Commercial Burglary, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 9p.m. on Sept. 6 and 8:45a.m. on Sept. 7, an unknown subject entered a check cashing store and stole a safe. There are no known suspects.

Sept. 6: Destruction of Property (Series), 500 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 10p.m. on Sept. 6, and 2p.m. on Sept. 7, an unknown subject scratched three vehicles inside a dealership showroom.

Sept. 8: Stolen Auto. 800 block of N. Taylor St. License tag number: DC CC9856. The auto is a 2003, silver, Lexus K300.

Sept. 10: Stolen Auto Tag, unit block (less than 100) of S. Glebe Road. License tag number: DC C68780.

Sept. 11: Stolen Auto. 700 block of N. Glebe Road. License tag number: VA XTZ7939. The SUV is a 1992, maroon, Isuzu Rodeo.

Click the icons and lines for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure or vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle or vehicle tag; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. All place marks are approximate. Click here to view larger map.

Police Notes Sept. 3, 2009

2009-09-02T16:24:00.005-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

Aug. 27: Resisting Arrest (Arrest), 3900 block of N. 4th St. At 12:30a.m., a man was combative during a traffic stop. James Petwat, 44, of Arlington, was charged with Resisting Arrest. He was held on a $2,500 bond.

Aug. 29: Robbery, 3800 block of N. 9th St. At 12:45a.m., an unknown male approached a woman from behind and stole her purse. The suspect fled into a waiting silver Volkswagen Jetta. The suspect was a white Hispanic male wearing jeans and a grey sweatshirt.

Aug. 30: Possession with Intent (Arrest), 5500 block of Arlington Blvd. At 12:30a.m. when an officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic infraction, the occupants threw narcotics from the window. The three suspects were arrested. Tuan Huang, 28, of Annandale, Dat Nguyen, 26, of Woodbridge, and Nguyen Nguyen, 25, of Gainesville, were all charged with Possession with the Intent to Distribute Cocaine. They were each held on a $3,000 bond.

Aug. 31: Peeping Tom, 4100 block of N. 3rd Road. At 12:45a.m. a woman saw a man looking in her bedroom window. The suspect is described as an African-American male wearing dark clothing.

Sept. 1: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 4000 block of N. 4th St. At 11a.m., a man spit in another man’s face. George Howard, 32, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery and released on a summons.

Click the icons and lines for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure or vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here to view larger map.

Buckingham Villages Update, an Overview

2009-08-31T05:07:00.010-05:00

Paradigm Construction Corp. prepares the property on N. Henderson Road for demolition. Culpepper Garden Assisted Living Center rises in the background. (Click to enlarge the image.)

As crews rip out trees and prepare to knock down buildings along Henderson Road, the time is right for a recap of the plans for Buckingham Village 1. (Plus, inquiries have made it to me, and I realized I do not have a post that ties it all up in the way I hope this one will. –ST)

First, a layout of the land is in order. Take a look at this map:

Village 1 is the home of current tree removal across from Barrett Elementary School. It’s the largest of the three villages, and when completed will have over 500 rental units in two large buildings, about 70 townhouses along N. George Mason Drive, and a small county park.

Village 2 is the only divided village. The road down the middle of the village along with the red rectangle showing the approximate placement of the George Mason Apartment complex (which is not part of the original Village 2), separate the other two thirds of the block. The blue dot shows where the townhouses have been built and are under construction. The green dot locates the fenced-in field along Thomas Street. Dozens more townhouses are planned for both sides of Village 2. This village is developed “by right” meaning that Paradigm Construction need not seek county approval for changes, so long they stay within current zoning rules.

Bought by Telesis Corporation just months ago, Village 3 will change little on the outside, preserving the two-storey buildings and the garden-style setting. Some additions will be added to the backs of buildings, and a building of some sort will cover the entrance to an underground community center. This village is protected as a county historic area and falls under the oversight of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, which will regulate any external changes to the property. All of the units (about 140) will be affordable to people of various levels of income. Some of the units along N. Pershing Drive will be part of a condominium.

Village 1 will undergo the most changes, and for more details on that, peruse the illustration:

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Although future plans can change, Paradigm is locked into the current arrangement of buildings in Village 1, given contracts signed with the county. Here are a few details:

(Click to enlarge the image.)

HeraldTrib Today, Aug. 28, 2009

2009-08-28T09:35:00.020-05:00

No names at the fair?...

Doug Galbi at the Ode Street Tribune, a blog in Rosslyn, noticed an odd fact at the Arlington County Fair: all the names on the competitive exhibits—e.g. the vegetables and photos—were nameless. Numbers only from August 19-23.

Photo courtesy of the Ode Street Trib. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Turns out the Arlington County Fair Board of Directors voted this year to take the names off tags for security reasons.

“Last year, a number of people expressed concern about seeing people’s names and addresses,” Denise Roller told me. She is the only paid staff person in the Arlington County Fair organization; the fair is run by the non-profit Arlington County Fair, Inc.

Given that 30,000 people perennially partake of this rite of summer, those concerned about the people's privacy were most concerned about children’s. Removing only the names of the littlest competitors proved too much, she said. “The fair is a lot of work” for the all-volunteer staff.

She reminded me a number of times that they are a volunteer organization, and as such, things can go wrong, especially when trying to communicate an idea from a board decision down to the person writing the name on the tag. They were nervous of inadvertently printing a child's name.

Plus, the tags are pre-ordered from a company that provides these sorts of items for fairs. They come with pre-printed numbers and spaces to write in names and addresses—part of the fear was it would take a lot of communication to make sure only the allowable information was put on the tags.

Oddly, even the winners did not get their names on anything official from the fair. Again, numbers only.

Ms. Roller said she hoped they would change that idea next year and give the winner a certificate, not just the nameless ribbon.

My take: put the names back on. I know it’s a lot of work (at least, I can imagine that it must be), but names with neighborhoods, it would seem to me, would be less intrusive while still letting us see who won. Figure out a way to do that.

When kids at the schools win something or other we get their names, and I always like seeing if I know the children. I have two elementary-aged children of my own, and I just do not understand the fears. I just don't see child abusers making the leap from viewing a pumpkin to stalking a child.

I wonder if it would be possible for people to fill in their own tag.

I was very happy to see Lebanese Taverna at the fair—I’d love to see more of the tastes of Arlington (while retaining at least a couple funnel cake and corn dog joints) at the fair.

Roof in Lubber Run…

Arlington County roofers John Koloszar and Jim Richards construct scaffolding on the rest room building in Lubber Run park last week. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Desperate joggers, dog-walkers, and stroller-pushing parents will have their rest room back soon. A tree had severely damaged the roof of the Lubber Run Park rest room about a month ago, making the building unusable. The roof is getting repaired and reshingled.

Time, time, time…

Well, I’m back. This was a much longer hiatus than planned, and for that I’m sorry. One of the reasons for the delay was that I’m trying to reconfigure this blog. I would like to make some money, and to write some different stories. Finding time for all of that is always the concern. In the summer there are kids (and I love getting away on vacation), but then during the school year, I have students, students, students. Finding time is the sticky wicket.

Still, I have some ideas for changes: 1, I am in the process of moving the blog from Blogger to a company called “neighborlogs.” They are out of Seattle, and their business plan aims to bring local advertising to local blogs. It’s a plan that is a long shot, but its heart is in the right place. 2, I’ve finally gotten a tag line: “News Worth Reading.” I’m thinking of it as part fact and part aspiration. The object will be to improve the stories I’m writing, maybe writing fewer but more complete stories.

That’s a couple smallish changes, and time only allows for smallish changes at one time. Many more stories coming down the line. Keep in touch.

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

Police Notes, Aug. 18 to 24.

Police Notes, July 1 to Aug. 17

Police Notes Aug. 18 to 24.

2009-08-26T13:17:00.003-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

Aug. 18: Peeping Tom (Arrest), 100 block of N. Trenton St. At 6a.m. several witnesses reported a peeping tom to police. The suspect was located and arrested. Froylan Molina, 46, of Arlington was charged with Peeping into a Dwelling and Drunk in Public. He was held on an $1,800 bond.

Police Notes July 1 to Aug. 17

2009-08-19T07:59:00.004-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. Today's post has a particularly large number of reports because it covers many weeks, including those of which I was on hiatus.--ST

July 2: Burglary (Series), 3200 block of Wilson Blvd. Between 10:30p.m. on July 2, and 8a.m. on July 3, an unknown subject broke into three offices in the same building. Various items were stolen. There is no suspect description.

July 4: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 600 block of N. Monroe St. At 7:20p.m., a man threatened a woman with a knife. Edwin Mihaly, 50, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery. He was held on a $2,500 bond.

July 12: Grand Larceny (Arrest), 800 block of N. George Mason Dr. At 11:50p.m., police stopped four subjects in possession of stolen bicycles. They were all juveniles, and charges are pending.

July 13: Stolen Auto, 4000 block of N. 9th St. License tag number: VA ZERO. The SUV was a 1995, white Ford Explorer.

July 13: Robbery, 3800 block of Arlington Blvd. At 1p.m., a group of men approached another male and took money from his pocket while punching him. Several of the suspects are known to the victim.

July 14: Grand Larceny Auto (Arrest), 500 block of N. Thomas St. At 9a.m., an officer attempted to stop a man driving a stolen vehicle. The suspect jumped out of the car and fled on foot. The officer ran after him and took him in custody. Robert Williams-Dixon, 24, of Riverdale, Md., was charged with Grand Larceny Auto and Driving While Suspended. The subject was also wanted out of another jurisdiction for Assault and Battery. He was held on $3,500 bond for the Arlington charges, and a $1,500 for the other charge.

July 20: Possession of a Firearm/Resisting Arrest, N. 10th Street at Fairfax Drive. At 9:45p.m., police pulled over a revoked driver. He was found in possession of a firearm. The suspect assaulted an officer and fled from police to avoid arrest, but was apprehended. David Campbell, 26, of Falls Church, was charged with Violation of a Protective Order (Possession of a Firearm) and Resisting Arrest. He was held on a $5,000 bond.

July 21: Stolen Auto, 5200 block of Wilson Blvd. License tag number: VA KHC7275. The car is a 2004, black Acura TL.

July 23: Stolen Auto, 4000 block of Arlington Blvd. License tag number: VA 8595CY. The car is a 2009, green Toyota Prius.

July 23: Attempted Robbery, 200 block of N. Columbus St. At 5:30p.m., a man was walking the bike trail near Lubber Run Park when he was approached by two unknown men. The suspects confronted the victim and demanded money. The victim chased the suspects off with a stick. The suspects were both white Hispanic males in their 30s. The first suspect was 5 feet, 9 inches, 190 pounds, had a goatee without a mustache, and was wearing a brown T-shirt, dirty jeans, and black shoes. The other suspect was 5 feet, 5 inches, 160 pounds, with long black hair, wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans, and white shoes.

July 29: Stolen Auto License Tag (1), 4300 block of N. Pershing Dr. License tag number: VA YBE5253.

July 30: Stolen Auto, 4500 block of N. Carlin Springs Road. License tag number: VA XUH5218. The car is a 1999, red Hyundai Elantra.

July 31: Unlawful Entry, 800 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 8:30a.m. and 11:30p.m., an unknown person entered a residence and left the doors standing open. No items were stolen and there is no suspect description.

July 31: Exposure (Arrest), 200 block of N. Thomas St. At 7p.m. a woman saw a man exposing himself outside her window. Police located the suspect and he was disorderly. Geoffrey Harley, 25, of Washington, was charged with Exposure and Obstruction of Justice. He was held on a $5,000 bond.

Aug. 2: Robbery, 4200 block of N. Pershing Drive. At 12:10a.m., two men stole beer from another man, assaulting him in the process. Both suspects were white Hispanic males. One suspect was in his early 20s, 5 feet, 5 to 8 inches, 190 pounds, wearing a white T-shirt, white pants, and black shoes. The second suspect was in his late teens, 5 feet, 5 to 8 inches, 160 pounds, wearing a blue T-shirt, jeans, and black shoes.

Aug. 1: Robbery, 200 block of N. Piedmont St. At 9p.m., a man stated that he was walking when an unknown male brandished a knife at him, stealing his jewelry and a wallet. The victim’s story changed several times and he was unclear about a suspect description.

Aug. 3: Larceny from Auto (Series), 3900 block of Fairfax Drive. Between 5:30p.m. and 10p.m., an unknown subject broke into at least two vehicles, stealing GPS units. There is no suspect description.

August 5: Stolen Auto, 400 block of S. Abingdon St. License tag number: VA KGX8192. The car is a 2007, blue, Audi A4.

Aug. 8: Peeping Tom (Arrest), 4100 block of N. 3rd Road. At 12:30a.m., a woman saw a man looking into her window. Police apprehended the suspect. Credenio Mendoza, 29, of Arlington, was charged with Peeping into a Dwelling. He was held on a $2,000 bond.

Aug. 12: Stolen Auto License Tag (1), 4400 block of S. 1st Place. License tag number: VA XVE5292.

Aug. 14: Assault and Battery, 4200 block of Fairfax Drive. At 3:30a.m. a man reported that he was a victim of an assault, but refused to give any further details.

Aug. 15: Sexual Battery, Lubber Run Park near 300 block of Park Drive. At 1p.m. a woman was walking her dog in the picnic area at Lubber Run Park when an unknown man approached her. He kissed her on the cheek and fondled her before she could flee the area. He was described as a white Hispanic male, between 45 and 50 years old, 5 feet, 9 inches, with a medium build. He was wearing a white T-shirt and khaki shorts.

Aug. 17: Stolen Auto (Recovered), 4100 block of N. 4th St. License tag number: VA JXW2528. The mini-van was a 2000, red Toyota Sienna.

Possible Big Changes Along N. Glebe: Harris Teeter to Goodyear

2009-07-21T06:01:00.014-05:00

Planning Commission hopes to meet this summer with owners of ASC, HT, and Goodyear to discuss potential plans.

Representatives of Harris Teeter, Goodyear, and the American Service Center have been meeting with each other over months to discuss possible redevelopment options in the 500 and 600 block of N. Glebe Road. The potential changes—a long-shot at best—would completely change the look of the block, especially the section north from the Harris Teeter grocery store to the Goodyear Tire company at the corner of N. Carlin Springs Road. The ideas floating would move or expand the businesses, creating underground or garage parking, retail space and apartments.

This is according to Terry Serie, an Arlington County Planning Commission member who spoke at the Buckingham Community Civic Association last night. (He actually was invited as a member of the Bluemont Civic Association, and was not speaking officially for the Planning Commission last night.)

The companies have been speaking on their own, and the Planning Commission hopes to get all of them in the room together this summer to see what, if anything, would be worth pursuing, Mr. Serie said.

“I’m expecting that nothing will happen,” he said, given the complexity and scope of a project like this.

He said that last year’s proposed redevelopment of the Goodyear and the small house on N. Carlin Springs next to the tire company is currently off-line, but that has nothing to do with the discussions with the other companies, he said.

The Planning Commission is a citizen advisory board that helps the elected county board with "orderly development of the locality" the county's web site says.

The topic that Mr. Serie actually came to speak about, however, was the newly approved outdoor seating at the Union Jack’s pub, located on the ground floor of the Ballston Commons Mall with a store-front on N. Glebe Road. The outdoor space allows for 54 seats, but many more people than that for standing room. Couple that with Rock Bottom Brewery’s Wednesday night outdoor kegger next door, and the noise, especially in the evening is a bit much for people living in the townhouses across the street from the mall, said Mr. Serie, who lives in one of the townhouses, part of the Bluemont Civic Association.

That civic association only learned last week about the proposed expansion of the outdoor seating, too late to mount an effective campaign. Plus, the company scaled back its plan so that it did not need the complicated Site Plan review or an Arlington County Board vote. County staff could OK the project on their own, consulting only the Ashton Heights Civic Association where the mall is located.

Bluemont Civic Association voted to write a letter to County Manager Ron Carlee, asking that Bluemont receive notices of decisions being made in the 600 block of N. Glebe Road that face the Bluemont, even though the mall and garage property are inside the Ashton Heights neighborhood.

The BCCA voted to write a similar letter.

Also speaking at the BCCA meeting was Tom Hutchings, an Arlington County planner who ran through the $2.4 million renovations of three N. Glebe Road intersections at Fairfax Drive, Wilson Blvd., and Carlin Springs Road, called the North Glebe Road Pedestrian Improvements Project. This has been years in the making, and much of the construction has already been completed.

County planner Tom Hutchings runs through changes that have or are being made at three intersections along N. Glebe Road. Members of the BCCA look on. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Wider sidewalks and skirts on the Exxon gas station and Goodyear corners has been completed, as has been shrub removal —allowing greater driver/pedestrian visibility—on the median just south of the intersection.

The most heated of the discussions among the people was how best to calm traffic entering and exiting the Ballston Mall parking garage.

Mr. Hutchings explained that planners tried to place raised crosswalks across the entrance to the garage, but the Virginia Department of Transportation would not allow it.

“We were hoping the bump-up would slow the cars down,” he said. VDOT also would not allow 10.5 foot traffic lanes, insisting instead on 11 feet.

People talked about getting better signs alerting drivers to watch for pedestrians. Mr. Hutchings said he would ask, at the request of the BCCA, that the entire corner, and especially the exit from the mall, be made “no right turn on red.” No promises in that, though.

This project started in 1999 and was projected for completion at least six months ago. Last report put the project at $1.9 million.

Finally, BCCA President Pat Hope made official what was clear to many: he will not seek another term as BCCA president. Mr. Hope is running as a Democrat in the 47th District of the Virginia House of Delegates. As a Democrat, he is widely expected to win the race and will not have time for both positions. He can serve until November, he said at the meeting. The BCCA will pick up the search for a replacement at the September meeting.

Related stories…

Proposed Mixed-use Building for Goodyear Site

A Decade for New Lights and Curb Cuts

I am still on summer hiatus, but the news was just too big to ignore at last night's meeting, so I thought I'd give a quick post. More on this in the fall, no doubt. --ST

HeraldTrib Today: July 8, 2009

2009-07-08T07:52:00.011-05:00

Trying not to sound like Sarah Palin, but the hiatus starts today...

Well, those of you who follow the blog know that I have not posted anything much in the last two weeks. That’s just how the summer has to be for me (see a list of recent posts, below). I’m realizing that more than ever now. Once the kids are out of school, they become my focus. Plus, my house needs work!

It’s tough, too, to make the argument that I must keep up this blog. It’s time consuming, and I get no money for it. I use it as professional development. That has been my largest argument—I stay up-to-date on media trends, and I keep covering stories so that I can, with more authority, tell my journalism students at Montgomery College how it’s done.

That’s the problem, though. I spend enough time at the blog that I don’t have time to prepare classes as fully as I would like. In short, I don’t have time to fully engage either as a placeblogger or as a professor. I can’t make the money off the blog that I would need to make, and I spend many hours blogging while worrying over papers to grade or wondering what more I could be doing with my students (or, as now, thinking about the screen door I must install, getting my daughter to camp, and getting both kids to the pool for races and lessons).

So, I’ll be going on hiatus now, immediately (geez, I feel a bit like Sarah Palin suddenly, and I hope I don’t sound as much like a quitter as she did). I need time to regroup and figure out how to balance everything, and of some imporatance, how to make money at this.

I’ll still be attending events and meetings, and such, and I hope to be back in September with fresh posts, maybe a fresh perspective. Maybe an Angel Investor?? I’d take one.

A couple thoughts on the Arlington Public Schools...

Before I go, I wanted to give my two cents to the new Superintendent of Arlington Public Schools. Dr. Pat Murphy is meeting with people in living rooms across Arlington this summer, and I must say it irks me, a touch. This is one of those times when you need to know something is available in order to take full advantage.

Anyone can contact the people who own the living rooms and go, so long there is space left in their living rooms (for contact info, click here). However, to be one of the people whose living room is used, you must have known to ask APS for the opportunity. That is, people who knew to call APS to set-up a meet-n-greet were able to set one up. APS tells me now that the space in Mr. Murphy's calendar is full.

Three of the meetings are at public venues with plenty of space (Arlington Education Center, Macedonia Baptist Church and Courthouse Plaza), but the rest are living rooms, with limited space. Only one lists Spanish translation (though others might have it).

I’ve put myself on the list should space for another arrive, and I plan to contact some Buckinghamsters to see who might host (I’m thinking either the Gates of Ballston Community Center or the Arlington Oaks Community Center), and you can bet I’ll get a translator. Sheesh.

Even if I do get asked to set-up a meeting, I still think there has to be a better system for setting the calendar.

At the same time, Arlington Public Schools adopted new facilities use plans that seem more clear and look fair to me.

Today's Headlines:

County Board to Take Up a Number of B'ham Items, Saturday.

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

HeraldTrib on WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show

Police Notes for June 13 - 30; the police notes were updated on July 8 to include a few missing items.

Board to Take Up A Number of B'ham Items Saturday

2009-07-08T04:38:00.011-05:00

Federal stimulus money may be appropriated in two projects.

The county is set to issue $43 million in bonds, with $14.8 million going to purchase property on Village 1 that will become a street and park, between N. Pershing Drive and N. Henderson Road, west of N. George Mason Drive (the four-storey Madison at Ballston Station apartment building is there). The vote comes this Saturday at the county board's monthly meeting.

As part of the 2007 agreement between the county and Paradigm Development Company, the owner of the property, the county would buy road and park space on the Village 1 property.

The road will extend N. 3rd Street from N. Henderson to N. Pershing and would build a park, about the size of a football field, on N. 4th Street just west of N. George Mason. According to county documents, Paradigm will complete the road and park; the money spent includes those improvements.

County funds will be put toward this "Village Green" park on N. 4th Street. George Mason Drive runs vertically to the right of this image. (File image from Paradigm Development Co. Click to enlarge the image.)

According to the county manager’s report, “Under the terms of the purchase agreement, closing on the acquisition is dependent on the developer’s completion of certain site work, including demolition and removal of above and below ground structures and site grading. This work is anticipated to be completed later this fall, with closing and settlement of funds to occur on the acquisition shortly thereafter.”

These bonds are not part of the “general obligations” fund but the “annual appropriations pledge” and therefore will likely carry a “double-a” rating, and therefore higher interest. They might also be issued under the “Build America Bonds” as part of the federal stimulus package, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” the report said.

“Estimated annual debt service in [fiscal year] 2010 on the bonds totals $0.9 million. Approximately $0.2 million will be paid for from the Transportation Investment Fund and is attributable to the portion of the Buckingham Village 1 acquisition related to the public street extension. The remaining $0.7 balance will be paid for from the General Fund and is within the County’s adopted FY 2010 budget,” the report states.

Federal stimulus money will also go to Carlyn Springs apartments for energy improvements. The board is set to approve up to $151,120 of “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” money to Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing for the apartments at 4318 N. Carlin Springs Road (on the corner of Carlin Springs and N. Thomas Street). The complex, two buildings, is a mix of market-rate and affordable units.

Union Jack’s Pub in the Ballston Commons Mall is looking to expand its outdoor café from 20 to 54 seats, and the plan they have puts tables and chairs at the boundary of the right-of-way along the Glebe Road sidewalk. County staff, according to the manager’s report, felt it required a site plan amendment to make sure chairs and tables do not encroach on the walkways. The report says that Ashton Height’s Civic Association was notified and no comments were made. The restaurant must maintain a six-foot, barrier-free walkway between any fencing that corrals their tables and chairs, and the “tree pits” that run along N. Glebe Road, according to the report. Citizens may comment on this item at the recessed meeting Tuesday July 14, 6:30p.m. (see the comment, below).--ST

Public comment starts 8:30a.m. July 11 at the county board meeting room, third floor of the county office building, 2100 Clarendon Blvd.--ST

Related stories…

Buckingham Villages Update (June 2009).

Police Notes June 13 - 30

2009-07-02T10:49:00.011-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. (This post was updated on July 8 to reflect three missing reports.)--ST

June 13: Assault/Indecent Exposure, 900 block of N. Irving St. At 3:30a.m. a woman was walking when an unknown man grabbed her behind. When the victim turned around, the suspect then exposed his buttocks to her before fleeing the area. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his early 20s, 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 160 pounds. He was wearing a light colored t-shirt and dark pants.

June 20: Attempted Sexual Assault, 900 block of N. Taylor St. At 3:45a.m., a woman was walking when an unknown male approached her. He forced her into some bushes and attempted to remove her clothing. She fought him and yelled “Fire.” Witnesses ran to the area and the suspect fled. He is described as a white Hispanic male, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a button down shirt, dress pants, dress shoes, and a dress belt.

June 30: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 11:45a.m., a woman attacked an adult and three juveniles while on a bus. The suspect was located by police. Angela Orji, 26, of Arlington, was charged with four counts of Assault and Battery. She was held on a $4,000 bond.

June 30: Disorderly Conduct (Arrest), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. On June 30 at 11:45a.m., a man interfered with the investigation of the above assault and refused to leave the area. Santos Cabrera Gonzalez, 44, of Arlington, was charged with Disorderly Conduct. He was held on a $1,000 bond.

June 19 (From a press release): The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a critical pedestrian accident that occurred on Wilson Blvd.on Friday evening.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009, a pedestrian was struck by a white Ford F-150 truck. The accident occurred at the intersection of North 10th Street and Wilson Blvd. A pedestrian was crossing North 10th Street when he was struck by the vehicle. The driver of the striking vehicle stayed on scene and was interviewed by police. The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.

Mark Planisek, 49, of Washington, died on on Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

The Arlington Police Department asks that any witnesses to the accident contact Det. Richard Conigliaro at 703-228-4159. Det. Conigliaro can also be reached via email at Rconig@arlingtonva.us.

Click the icons and lines for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here for a larger map

HeraldTrib on Kojo Nnamdi TODAY

2009-06-29T09:24:00.006-05:00

Kojo's show is covering hyperlocal journalism and placeblogging today. I'm one of the guests along with bloggers from DC and Maryland.

88.5 FM, 12:00.

Check it out and call in to chat!

Listen to the show here.

HeraldTrib Today Thursday June 18, 2009

2009-06-18T10:11:00.004-05:00

Who will run the BCCA?...

Now that Pat Hope, the Buckingham Community Civic Association president, has won the Democratic primary for the House of Delegates’ 47th seat, who will head the BCCA? The conventional wisdom says that, as the Democrat, Pat most likely will win the November election and become the Delegate. He indicated at his victory party that the community will have to find a new leader if he wins in November. He did not say, but I can imagine that this job will be just one too many for his schedule (Pat is very active in the community).

It’s not a simple question, either, given two very important facts: 1, the BCCA meetings are often lightly-attended. So the pool of potential applicants is small. 2, the person needs a decent understanding of government machination as well as some political smarts to be able to talk with other groups in the neighborhood. The tenants group BU-GATA is the big one, but there’s also the informal groupings of people at the Buckingham Outreach Center, and there’s a rather large Bangladeshi community, too. I’m probably forgetting others.

No one jumps to mind as the perfect candidate right now, but I’ll start making inquiries.

County board talking but not saying…

The County Board met in a closed session last week with the county manager, Ron Carlee, and county staff to discuss the legal issues surrounding the historic preservation ordinance.

“No actions were taken,” county public relations rep Mary Curtius wrote in an email, so they do not need to report what was talked about.

Basically, the ordinance is a zoning ordinance giving the county, its commissions and boards the right to regulate, in this case, outside renovations in a historic district. Just so you know.

I heard about this session when I went to the open meeting of the board and the county manager where they spoke of long-term transportation and parking issues. It was the first of these sorts of meetings in which the full board sits with the manager to ask questions and get feedback before the main, public, Saturday-morning board meeting.

The old method had the board members catching up with one another, discussing ideas and questions and then individually meeting the manager in a similar way.

Board member Mary Hines told me later that, as the newest member of the county board, she really liked being able to ask questions and even more to be able to listen to the questions and remarks of others.

It strikes me, as a citizen, that this is much better. I know the law about meetings and quorums can be rather clear that too much talking behind doors turns an informal chat into a real meeting that should be conducted in public. I am not accusing the board of having stepped over the line, but it seems these monthly, open chats has clarified the line.

Confusion in mini-golf story…

I have to apologize for the confusion with the story covering the park at the corner of N. Glebe Road and N. Randolph Street. County planner Scott McPartlin and I were misunderstanding one another, but we have that cleared, and I think the story is now accurate.

The fledgling blue jays are just too cute…

I’m gone for a week…

I feel as though I get started in the summer when other commitments pull me away. Alas, this is the last post for about a week. I’m glad I was able to get to the county board meet regarding Village 3. With luck, nothing exciting will happen next week. I’ll write to you when I return.

Arlington Oaks' annual yard sale, June 27…

I forgot to put this in a moment ago when I updated the site: Saturday June 27, 8a.m. to 1p.m. People are selling all over the property on both sides of N. George Mason Drive between N. Pershing Drive and Arlington Blvd. Property maps will be available so shoppers can find the sales throughout the community; towing will be suspended during the yard sale.

Today's Headline:

Dreams of Homeownership Run Deep

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

County Board OKs BV3 Affordable Housing Plan

Foresters Eyeing Former “McGregor’s” Space

Police Notes: June 4 -12

Barrett Students Take Runner-Up in “Shorties”

Buckingham Villages Updates

Go Remy’s “Arlington”: Mugging Includes Hot Cocoa

Adventure Park, Town Center, or Mini-golf Considered for Glebe/Randolph Corner.

Special Primary Election Coverage

From Hopeful to Humble at Post-Election Parties

8,000 Vote in Primary; Hope, Deeds Win

Letter: No Lines Today

Turnout Looks Brisk, Despite Weather

Republican Enters Race for 47th

Letter: Feld Hasn’t Called Hope “Names”

Dreams of Homeownership Run Deep

2009-06-18T09:44:00.005-05:00

Juan Bonilla has lived in the same one-bedroom Buckingham Village apartment on N. 4th Street for 10 years with his wife, the past four years with their children. After months of attending meetings to save affordable housing and the neighborhood of people who come with it, he is wondering if he will be able to buy one of the two- or three-bedroom apartments in the condominium that will be created on the Village 3 property.

Juan Bonilla and his wife Maria Sanchez hope to buy a three-bedroom apartment in a Buckingham Village 3 condominium. They rent a one-bedroom apartment with heir children Eugenia, 4, and Joana, 10 months. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Right now, the rules say no.

Mr. Bonilla is a “rod-man” for the Miller-Long construction company, helping place the steel reinforcement bar in the huge columns that keep high-rises vertical. In that job, he makes about $25 per hour, up near $50,000 a year. And that’s just not enough according to the current rules that county staff, Telesis Corporation, and that company’s management partners are considering for home ownership in the condominium.

The current rules say that the total income of residents in the unit must be 60 to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The AMI is set by the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Bonilla would need to make about $61,000 a year to qualify.

Still, there is some hope.

The county board OKed an affordable housing program for Buckingham Village 3 at its meeting Tuesday night. It opens the process of creating a 48-unit condominium in five buildings along N. Pershing Drive between N. George Mason Drive and N. Thomas Street. However, the board left open many of the details of what the condominium finances would look like and who would be able to buy.

“I think I can qualify,” Mr. Bonilla said from a chair in his living room one recent afternoon. He said he has a high credit rating and savings. Plus, the rules dictate the total household income, not one person’s. Perhaps a relative of his would be interested in sharing the mortgage and sleeping in one of the rooms.

His daughters are growing older. Joana is 10 months (and already walking), and Eugenia will turn five in October and will go to the pre-school program at K.W. Barrett Elementary School this fall. It might take a couple years before the units are ready for sale.

“We don’t know when this is coming, so my wife could work too,” in time to qualify, he said. His wife, Maria Sanchez, has been staying home with their children.

Lois Athey and others at the county board meeting urged the board to consider lowering the standard for owner-qualifications. She is a long-time representative of BU-GATA, a tenants’ association in the neighborhood.

“Some of these people will qualify with good credit scores and savings…you’d be surprised,” she told the board.

Mr. Bonilla addressed the county board, saying, "I ask that you approve this program so that we can stay in Arlington." (Click to enlarge the image.)

The question of what income level to serve was discussed at length in the Buckingham Village 3 Working Group, a group set up at the direction of Ron Carlee, the county manager. It is a group of all the stakeholders involved including Telesis Corporation (the new owners of the Village 3 complex), tenants, county staff and others.

“We didn’t come to a complete consensus” on that issue, said Reshma Holla, an assistant project manager with Telesis. Her company will develop and manage the property with the National Housing Trust and other partners.

County staff, she said, got nervous at the level of subsidy when the income level dropped. Currently, the county subsidy is expected to be about $140,000 per unit. If the subsidy has to increase in order to help people at the lower income level, the price rises to about $200,000, she said.

“Ultimately that means we’d be asking for more county subsidy,” she said, adding that county staff just wasn’t comfortable with that number.

It is not just the subsidy but the idea that this level of help has not been done in the county for homeownership before.

“The 60 to 80 percent [of AMI] is consistent with what we’ve done elsewhere,” said David Cristeal, a lead county planner on the project. It is a “nuanced answer” but the county has to be careful to avoid a precedent it cannot keep.

But there still is the possibility that the 50 percent AMI level can be reached, Ms. Holla said.

“The goal is we’d still like to reach that lower income level,” she said. They will be looking to other sources, maybe private sources, for the money.

At the board meeting Tuesday night, Jose Castellon, an 18-year Village 3 resident, told the board to put the emphasis on “a variety of income ranges.”

After the meeting he said, “I’m happy” that the board passed the affordable housing plan. But he still hopes to be able to buy.

“I got good credit,” he said, adding later, “I don’t want to go away.”

He has two children who will be in high school next year. “I don’t want to pull my kids out of school.”

In Mr. Bonilla’s living room, he said he likes the access to Metro, the Glebe Market, the good schools.

“I like the neighborhood. It’s a very good neighborhood,” he said. If he can’t buy, he said he would not move away, but would most likely rent a two-bedroom unit. His daughters can share a room.

“They’re two girls, they can live in one bedroom,” he said.

But would he resent not being able to buy, despite his work on the Buckingham Village 3 working group?

“I wouldn’t be disillusioned because someone from my community would be getting the benefits,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Lois Athey, a long-time activist with BU-GATA, the tenants’ association in the neighborhood, translated the interview with Mr. Bonilla in his living room. --ST

Board OKs BV3 Affordable Housing Plan

2009-06-17T04:45:00.012-05:00

Last night the county board OKed a plan to keep 92 rental units of Buckingham Village 3 affordable for the next 75 years, possibly longer, while creating a condominium of 48 units for sale, and resale, at below-market prices for the same period.

Jay Fissette (Click to enlarge the image.)

The meeting of the five grew mildly tense at times, when county board member Chris Zimmerman attempted to understand if the rental units and the condo units could be readied for occupancy at the same time, and board Vice Chair Jay Fissette quizzed county staff about the lack of detail concerning geothermal heat pumps as a possible green alternative heat source for the redevelopment.

In the end, the board unanimously approved the affordable housing plan—something never really in question—but will hear more about the geothermal plan during their July meeting.

This allows Telesis Corp. and National Housing Trust, the new owners (with others) of the Village 3 complex, to get their financial ducks in a row for the August 5 opening of the Virginia tax credits competition.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

The affordability of these units works best if certain federal and state tax credits are received. There is a finite amount of money in the Virginia tax credit hopper, which is doled out starting August 5, so it helps to be the first in line.

On the rental side, the county has paid about $14.9 million for the purchase of the land and will receive about $10 million back during the long-term lease with Telesis. That leaves about $4 million of county financing in the project, or about $110,000 per rental unit, reported David Cristeal, a lead county planner in the project. He said that the cost to the county for the condominium would be nearly $7 million or about $143,000 per unit. The county may receive some of this money back as the units are sold.

He said last night’s decision required the board to vote so that the company would “sufficient time to meet the time frame of early August.”

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Only one of the 10, or so, civilian speakers last night was negative. Long-time county activist Jim Hurysz wondered if the price tag of $110,000 per unit was too expensive.

“Are there better options [to purchase affordable housing] like buying old duplexes” or small apartment buildings at $50,000 per unit, he wondered aloud. He did not give an example of where or how many of those might exist in the county.

In the past, county board and staff have said they liked the idea of saving so much affordable housing all at once, in Buckingham, and of saving the community itself, allowing as many people as possible to remain in the neighborhood while renovation and redevelopment takes place.

If all goes as planned, renovation of the units—all 140 in Village 3 will be renovated—begins next spring.

Mr. Zimmerman focused on making sure the rental units and condo sales happen together since that would mean the least disruption for people who want to buy but are currently renting in Village 3. He said that developing the home ownership segment while maintaining the community is a large point of this project. If the county and Telesis get the home ownership segment moving, but the people in the neighborhood who might have bought have already left, then what is the point, he wondered.

Many of the exact details of how the home ownership would work are still to be worked out.

Mr. Cristeal said that there were site plan concerns with the condo and parking concerns along with setting up the purchasing assistance program for the potential buyers. As well, the county has to sell the section of the property that the condo will own.

“We ought to be able to expedite those,” especially the site plan and housing assistance processes, given that they are under county control, Mr. Zimmerman said.

But then there’s the problem of phased redevelopment—how does Telesis keep people in some units on the property while renovating others?

Perhaps they don’t, Mr. Zimmerman said, offering that they could move people to apartments elsewhere in Buckingham. That has happened during the renovation of The Gates of Ballston and Historic Ballston Park. Now, Buckingham Village 1 has the new Madison at Ballston Station with units that rent at affordable rates.

“One of the obstacles to getting the timing of the ownership units on line with the rental units…was the difficulty of trying to maintain people on site,” Mr. Zimmerman said.

Aimee McHale of the National Housing Trust, explained, “There’s an astronomical cost with relocating people off-site. We should have said that up front.” They plan to renovate one or two buildings at a time and shuffle people around on the property as they do so.

Mr. Zimmerman wondered if perhaps some fraction could move off-site if that meant the condo renovation would keep pace with the rentals.

Scott Kline (Click to enlarge the image.)

“We will look at that. Clearly we have a lot to do with respect to phasing. We’ve been focused on the housing program so that we can be ready for the 9 percent tax-credit application that’s due on August fifth,” said Scott Kline, vice president of the National Housing Trust. “We do have a lot more work to refine our renovation plan.”

When board Vice Chair Jay Fissette had his opportunity he wondered why the plans for the use of geothermal heat pumps were conflicting and inspecific.

“[W]hen I read this, I get really mixed messages from the memo,” he said. The use of the pumps which use naturally-occurring heat deep in the earth to heat the apartments would require Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board approval, and might interfere with old-growth trees which might have to be removed, and the initial installation is expensive.

But the use of the heat-pumps might still be worth it if it meant that the people who lived in the units would have much lower utilities bills long into the future, Mr. Fissette said.

“We can’t always being thinking about affordable housing without thinking about the context of affordable living,” Mr. Fissette said. He couched his argument for the geothermal heat pump in the idea that people should only be encouraged to buy and rent units if they can also afford to live there long-term. Lowering utilities bills would help that, he said.

In the end, he was willing to draft the motion to approve the affordable housing program while asking for more information about the geothermal program at next month’s meeting.

Click the lines for more information. View larger map

Foresters Eyeing Former "McGregor's" Space

2009-06-16T09:58:00.008-05:00

A group of Arlington Foresters is hoping to build more community with a high-end market, coffee, ice cream or other "neighborhood hang-out" in either the vacant Mrs. McGregor's Garden Shop space, the Country Curtain space, which will be vacant in August, or both. (Click to enlarge the image.)

A group of neighbors in Arlington Forest want the Arlington Forest Shopping Center to feel like a destination, a place neighbors could go to sit, talk and meet. None of the stores or restaurants has that drop-in and hang around feel that a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, or even a small, upscale market might have.

Now might just be the time to make the destination happen, since the space that was Mrs. McGregor’s Garden Shop has been vacant for months, and the Country Curtain is moving to Fairfax in August.

“Right now, we’re wanting to know if the landlord is even interested,” said Michele Cato, an organizer of a group of Foresters looking into the business idea.

The answer is: probably not.

The problems are quite a few, and the neighbors know this, Ms. Cato said.

Van Woodley, the leasing agent for the space, said he has been contacted by people in Arlington Forest.

The small, basement space formerly Mrs. McGregor's Garden Shop will not work as a coffee shop, the leasing agent said. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“We’re not encouraging a coffee thing for that location, without ventilation, limited air conditioning,” he said. He works for A.J. Dwoskin and Associates, of Fairfax. He said they haven’t had a lot of luck with coffee shops, but one might work if it could be on the main level near the Brick’s Pizza and Chrystal Thai, but of course, there is no space open there.

Yet there’s trouble beyond the ventilation. The rent for the small space in the basement of the shopping center, on the side of the shopping center that faces houses, will be about $4,000 a month plus utilities, and they want a five-year lease. Mr. Woodley said someone has to guarantee the roughly quarter-million dollars over five years that the lease will require. Without a financial backer, any idea would be tough to pull off.

“Being tucked under like that has some drawbacks,” he said. The fact that it faces homes, and therefore is restricted in what it can be, is a big issue for the leasing agent. His company is looking toward a small, professional service such as a tax accountant.

Drainage issues and a wet basement are drawbacks that Ms. Cato said she sees. Parking is a concern for both sides.

Ms. Cato thinks her group might come up with an idea that would use both the Country Curtain and McGregor's spaces together. That's an idea that Mr. Woodley said his firm has been pursuing with other companies interested in the property. They have a "wide range" of different retail companies interested in the space, he said, but he would not elaborate.

The Arlington Forest group is looking at creating a co-operative of some sort, possibly, or of finding a financial backer. Ms. Cato said her group knows that anything is a long shot, but they are thinking of an upscale market that would serve coffee, ice cream and pastries, but would also sell food and baked goods.

She said there is some historical precedence for this, too, as the original plans for the center called for some sort of market.

“We want something community based,” she said. “There’s an amazing amount of interest in the community.”

She knows that parking would be an issue for anything, and she believes the community would not support a regular grocery store or convenience store. Her group, which met last week for the first time, divvied-up the jobs, doling out roles to match the people’s strengths. One is calling the landlord, another is looking into the co-op option. The group is strong in the time they can dedicate and in skills, she said.

She admitted that it would be OK if they’re group did not put together a winning proposal, so long the space got something that the community could use to congregate. If the Brick’s Pizza just had nice seating, that would work, she said, adding later that she wanted it to feel more like the Westover Shopping Center on Washington Blvd., with its ice cream and coffee shops, a hardware store, nice restaurants and other places for the community to gather.

“We’ll work with all the neighborhood groups,” Mr. Woodley said.

Police Notes June 4 -12

2009-06-15T09:50:00.004-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

June 4: Exposure, 3800 block of Wilson Blvd. At 9p.m., two women were walking down the street when they saw a man standing near a bush exposing himself. A suspect has been named.

June 7: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 900 block of N. Stafford St. At 7a.m., a man was sitting in his car in a parking lot when three subjects assaulted him. Police located the subjects fleeing the area. Petch Bhumibhanit, 29, Chaichat Noprapa, 28, and Sanhajuta Lampoonphong, 29, all of Arlington, were charged with Assault and Battery.

June 11: Indecent Exposure (Arrest), 4400 block of S. 1st Road. At 1:30p.m., a woman was on the W&OD Trail and saw a man exposing himself to people passing by. Police located the suspect. Donald McGown, 58, of no fixed address, was charged with Indecent Exposure. He was held on a $2,000 bond.

Barrett Students Take Runner Up in "Shorties"

2009-06-12T12:16:00.005-05:00

"Spaghetti Monster: A Spaghetti Western," a film by K.W.Barrett Elementary School students, was the runner-up in the Live Action category for 7 to 10 year olds in the Shortie Film Festival.

Students at Abingdon Elementary School won the 7 to 10 animated film with "The Lost Colony" and Hoffman-Boston students were runners-up in the best news in an elemenatry school category.

"Established in 2001, The Shortie Awards: Student Film and News Festival recognizes original digital media productions created by student filmmakers, ages 7-18, and their teachers. The Shortie Awards focuses on nurturing imagination," the festival web site says. The films are no longer than 10 minutes.

Congratulations!

Buckingham Villages Updates

2009-06-12T10:35:00.005-05:00

Project Manager Micheline Castan-Smith reports via email that the next step in the Buckingham Village 1 redevelopment is to prepare what will be the county’s property on the site. Now that the Madison at Ballston Station apartment complex is completed and is being leased, Paradigm Development Company will focus on space for the extension of N. 3rd Street and the county park just north of the Madison (see the image).

(Illustration Thurston; image, Paradigm Development Co. Click to enlarge the image.)

The third street extension will replace what had been a cut-through alley and parking lot between the Culpepper Garden and Buckingham Villages apartments. The change will make the new road an official county street and will be close to, but not exactly where, the alley is.

At the recessed board meeting next Tuesday the county is expected to OK an extension of the Tenant Assistance Fund. Set-up in 2007, this fund was designed to help low-income residents of various Buckingham Village apartments to stay in the neighborhood, according to the county manager’s report.

As buildings were torn down and replaced, this fund has helped 11 families who were already in the neighborhood, stay in the neighborhood, the report states. The fund, with $125,000 taken from the Affordable Housing Investment Fund two years ago, is still in the black and does not require additional money. Nine families are still receiving the help, the report states.

Finally, the board will discuss and vote on major elements of the Buckingham Village 3 redevelopment.

In preparation for this meeting, last month the board met with Telesis Corp. the owners and managers of the property to determine the best mix of home rental and ownership and what type of ownership should be involved. The final decision came down to 92 rentals and a condominium of 48 units. All of the units will be rented or purchased at below market rates.

The question that will remain even after Tuesday’s meeting is how the condominium units will be resold when a purchaser decides to sell. All the units are to remain affordable, almost in perpetuity, so the owner who bought at affordable rates and wishes to sell, cannot do so at market rates. The conventional wisdom says that the owner should be able to reap some reward on his or her investment, but should sell at an affordable price as well. The details of this have yet to be worked out. (More on this story after the meeting next week.)

Related stories…

County and Telesis Prep for June Meeting (May 2009).

County Board OKs Leasing and Financing of BV3 (March 2009).

Arlington to Enter Deal with Telesis (February 2009).

Go Remy's "Arlington": Mugging Involves Hot Cocoa

2009-06-12T05:17:00.004-05:00

Perhaps this video by comedian song-writer Remy, as one reaction on the youtube site puts it, is too "north Arlington."

The poster of that message said, we up here, even in just-barely-north Arlington have access to the Starbucks and the Starbucks, and the Starbucks, but they have Weenie Beenie and Bob and Edith's down below the Pike. True that.

Remy represents on the O-Line, not the likes of Buckingham, or even "West Buckingham," foshizz. Still, it's funny.

Samplin':

Yeah, we kinda got a mall
You know you can't stop us.
It's got everything, but nothing good
It's kinda like tapas

From Hopeful to Humble at the Appreciation Parties

2009-06-10T10:51:00.011-05:00

Patrick Hope, right, talks to supporters at his campaign victory party last night. The tally gave Mr. Hope the win in the Democratic primary for the House of Delegates' 47th seat with about 36 percent of the vote. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Early last evening at Miles Grant’s post-campaign party, when campaign volunteer Christopher Gill was “hopeful, but realistically so,” he said, “This is the local McGovern campaign.”

He meant that they may have lost, but they, especially the volunteers, will continue.

“The mere fact of trying creates a positive effect,” Mr. Gill said. He and other volunteers met for one last campaign party at Union Jack’s English pub in the Ballston Commons Mall.

The five Democrats ran to replace Al Eisenberg, pictured at Patrick Hope's victory party last night. The three-term delegate is not running for a fourth. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Although their candidate took fourth place in the five-way Democratic primary in the House of Delegates race, many of the volunteers who stopped to mingle over hors d'oeuvre and drinks said the experience was a good one and that they would continue with other activities, maybe even try for office themselves.

“We had a great campaign,” running on important issues like environmental action and equal rights for all Mr. Grant said in a brief interview at the pub. “I’m just happy to be drinking my first beer since being a candidate.”

At his campaign party, Andres Tobar told a few gathered in a north Arlington living room, “I didn’t make it...I just wanted to thank you so much.”

He said Patrick Hope would take the fight for the House of Delegate’s 47th seat to the November election. “I’m very delighted with his victory.”

Mr. Tobar, who came in fifth place, left his own party to go to congratulate Mr. Hope at his.

The scene at the home of Mr. Hope's campaign chair was decidedly more upbeat as party-goers, some of the elite from the Arlington political scene, including Al Eisenberg, the incumbent who is stepping down after six years in the House of Delegates.

Andres Tobar gives Patrick Hope a congratulatory hug after the election results came in Tuesday evening. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“You have supported so many great people over the years,” Mr. Eisenberg said.

“Including you, Al!” another person yelled.

Mr. Eisenberg’s wife, Sharon Davis, picked up the speech from there, “We’ll work with Patrick to make a smooth transition next year.”

Miles Grant campaign volunteer Christopher Gill checks early poll results with another volunteer at Union Jack's English Pub last night. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Ted Bilich, a donor to Mr. Hope’s campaign and a supporter from Ashton Heights, said, “This is exciting. I think he’ll be good for our district.”

For his part, Mr. Hope, looking tired, and hot, and a little overwhelmed, said, “It’s still such a shock.”

“I’m looking forward to a lot of work,” he said, and was thankful for all the support. “I’m relieved, but I’m also very humble.”

8,000 Vote in Primary; Hope and Deeds Win

2009-06-10T09:24:00.006-05:00

Despite thundering skies, 374 people cast votes at the K.W. Barrett Elementary School yesterday. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Despite a thunderstorm in the morning and another in the afternoon, Arlingtonian Kasara Williams turned out to vote in yesterday’s Democratic primary. Why?

“Guilt,” she said, laughing. She said she works in politics.

“If I don’t vote, then everything I’ve worked for is useless,” she said on the front porch of the K.W. Barrett Elementary School, the Buckingham precinct polling location. Her picks did not win the day, however.

A campaign worker in Wisconsin during John Kerry’s 2004 bid for the presidency, she had met Terry McAuliffe when he was chair of the Democratic National Committee.

“I enjoyed talking with him,” and she liked his message, she said, so she voted for him. She also said she voted for Adam Parkhomenko in the House of Delegates race because one of his staffers handed her a flyer at the last minute.

Neither Mr. McAuliffe nor Parkhomenko won their races last night, as Creigh Deeds took the gubernatorial nomination from (some would say out from under) Brian Moran and Mr. McAuliffe. Patrick Hope won a shot at the House of Delegates seat in the 47th District. Mr. Hope will face Green Party candidate Josh Reubner in the fall. Arlington Republicans released the name of Eric Brescia as their candidate, but that has not yet been confirmed with the Arlington electoral board.

Slightly more than 8,000 votes were cast in yesterday’s election.

Kate Hughes ducked the rain and voted for Creigh Deeds for governor and Patrick Hope for the House of Delegates. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Mr. Hope took 36 percent of the 8047 votes cast; Alan Howze won 19, Adam Parkhomenko won 17, Miles Grant won 14, and Andres Tobar won 12.

In Mr. Hope’s home precinct of Buckingham, he took 220 of the 374 votes cast. Mr. Grant took second place there with 47 votes. In Arlington Forest Mr. Hope took 201 of 449 votes cast, while Alan Howze, 76 votes, edged Adam Parkhomenko, 74 votes, for second place. In Ashton Heights, Mr. Hope won 236 of the 609 total votes, with Mr. Howze receiving 126 votes.

Echoing what others interviewed said throughout the day, Kate Hughes said, “They’re all good candidates,” in the House of Delegates race. For governor, she voted for Mr. Deeds who will face Republican Bob McConnell in November.

“It’s a tight race,” she said of the gubernatorial run, adding later, “I think we’re going to have a tough fight.”

The sense of civic duty drew Keith Eishcheid to his Ashton Heights polling station at the Clarendon United Methodist Church where he met with Mr. Hope, Mr. Tobar and Mike Signer, who lost to Judy Wagner in the primary race for Lt. Governor.

The three candidates stood ready to speak with last-minute voters at a poll that hit over 20 percent voting, high for a rainy primary.

In the 2007 Democratic primary about 6,600 votes were cast in the race for Arlington County treasurer, the only race on the docket. In 2006, when now Sen. Jim Webb ran in the primary against Harris Miller, about 11,000 votes were cast. Even that number is less than 10 percent of the registered voters.

The granddaddy of them all, of course, was last year’s race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the Democratic side, and Mike Huckabee, John McCain, and Ron Paul on the Republican side. A total of about 54,000 people voted, about 45 percent of the total registered, according to Arlignton County records.

“I like to vote,” Mr. Eishcheid said, umbrella in hand. He made a point of thanking each candidate for coming.

Letter: No Lines Today

2009-06-09T11:38:00.001-05:00

Steve,

No line at all to vote today. Was there around 8:15. I parked in the parking lot at Culpeper Gardens, so I avoided all the campaign people stationed on the sidewalk on N. Henderson Road.

Dan Felsenheld
Arlington Forest

Turnout Looks Brisk, Despite Weather

2009-06-09T09:33:00.010-05:00

Despite the rainy skies and early morning thunder, people have turned out to vote in the Democratic primary today, saying that it was their duties as citizens or that in a small-turnout primary their votes really matter.

Zelmira McCann, at the Buckingham precinct, said she voted for Miles Grant and Terry McAuliffe. (Click to enlarge the image.)

At 9:15 this morning, about 112 people had voted at the Buckingham precinct and 166 had voted at Arlington Forest. The primaries last year--the one which John McCain and Barack Obama won--had a turnout of about 1100 voters on the day (Democrat and Republican) at the Buckingham precinct, or just shy of 100 an hour on average, compared to about 60 an hour above. Voters of any party can vote in Virginia primaries, so there is no way to tell if the voters are only Democrats. Neither the Republican nor the Green parties are holding primaries in Arlington this year.

No clear winner is stepping forward in the 47th seat in the House of Delegates race if a handful of interviews at the Buckingham and Arlington Forest precincts are any indication.

Patrick Hope and Miles Grant seem to be the favorites in these neighborhoods, but Andres Tobar also was mentioned. No one spoken with mentioned Alan Howze. Adam Parkhomenko was often cast as the person chosen not to vote for because of his age and inexperience. At the same time people were quick to say that Mr. Parkhomenko was a hard worker.

Generally, people said they found all five candidates in the House race to be OK and had a hard time picking the one to vote for. Sara Ellen Swatt, of Buckingham said she would have liked to have seen a woman run for the House of Delegates and blamed the party for not having a strong feeder system to get women into the position to run.

Khyati Desai, at the Buckingham precinct, said she voted for Patrick Hope and Brian Moran. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Stephen Goldman was 15 minutes into his commute when he saw a person holding an campaign sign and remembered that he had to vote, so he turned around to get back to his Arlington Forest precinct.

He said that during the campaign he asked three House candidates--the three who stopped at his door--to explain how they were different from each other, and was a little disappointed to find their answers "evasive," he said. "But I voted anyway."

The number of people interviewed was much too small to make any of this accurate beyond anecdote.

Zelmira McCann at the Buckingham Precinct, said she came out to vote to “keep the ball rolling with Democrats” who have had major victories in statewide elections in recent years. She chose Terry McAuliffe for governor and Miles Grant for the House of Delegates, she said.

“He’s the ‘Green Party’ type,” she said of Mr. Grant, adding that she’s trying to go green herself.

Khyati Desai, also at Buckingham, said she went with Brian Moran for governor and Patrick Hope for House of Delegates saying that Mr. Hope has made service in the community a career. She said its best to be engaged in the process early, so she made sure to vote in the primary.

A couple blocks away at the Arlington Forest precinct, Anne Fullerton said if she were a “single-issue voter” that issue would be immigration, so she cast a ballot for Andres Tobar, who is also a friend of hers from church.

Jackie Kramer, at Buckingham, voted for Patrick Hope in the House race; she had helped Mr. Hope campaign, and has been active in other campaigns in past years. She voted for Creigh Deeds in the three-way primary for governor.

“He’s in the best position to win,” she said. Much of her decision to vote for Mr. Deeds was based on the idea that Mr. Moran is too liberal to beat Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate for governor. Republicans will not be able to paint Mr. Deeds as a liberal--"He's not a liberal," she said.

“We love Brian, personally, he’s our guy. But it’s really a question of who can win.”

Republican Enters Race for 47th

2009-06-08T21:12:00.006-05:00

Updated June 16; it's officially in that Brescia has entered the race. I had posted this as "unconfirmed" for a number of days until I was sure the paperwork was in. --ST

Republican Eric Brescia has entered the race for the 47th House of Delegates seat. He enters a race that tomorrow will see a the five-way Democratic primary turn a hopeful into the party's nominee. Those running for the Democrats include: Miles Grant, Patrick Hope, Alan Howze, Adam Parkhomenko, and Andres Tobar. The Green Party is running Josh Ruebner.

From a press release June 9:
REPUBLICAN BRESCIA ANNOUNCES FOR 47th HOUSE DISTRICT

Eric Brescia today announced his candidacy to represent the people of Arlington's 47th House District in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Brescia accepted the nomination of the Republican Party and will run against [Patrick Hope] the winner of the five-way Democratic primary to succeed retiring Delegate Al Eisenberg.

A professional economist, Brescia will bring his problem-solving skills and experience with financial markets and economic development to the State House during this time of economic uncertainty and growing discontent with politics as usual.

Brescia looks forward to sharing with the residents of Arlington County and the 47th District his common-sense, economic approach to governance. As Delegate, Brescia would work with both parties to get Virginia's fiscal house in order, reform government programs to make them more efficient and effective, and protect and extend personal freedom and civil liberties for all Virginians.

As the first Republican to run in the 47th district since 2003, Brescia hopes to create some balance in the partisan representation of Arlington in Richmond so that Arlington will have a clear and effective voice on both sides of the aisle.

"For too long, the good people of Arlington have elected only one party to its six seats in Richmond and all county offices," explained Brescia. "But as our neighbors in Alexandria just demonstrated in their city council elections, Americans are understandably uncomfortable with one-party rule."

"It's about time the people of Arlington be given a choice between more of the same and a candidate who can work with both parties to bring about real and lasting change for all Virginians."

"I've already heard frustrations from many Arlingtonians, and am looking forward to engaging in an aggressive dialogue about ideas on how to reform our state government, keep and attract private-sector jobs in Virginia, and ensure that Virginians hold their elected leaders and representatives accountable," Brescia added.

Brescia is a resident of Arlington's Virginia Square neighborhood. He is a graduate of Providence College in Providence, RI.

"I am excited that Eric has decided to enter this race," said Mark Kelly, Arlington County Republican Chairman. "At a time when our economy is struggling, Eric will be able to put his expertise as an economist to work for us. And, I think the people of Arlington will like his thoughtful approach to all the issues. Eric will make a great candidate and an outstanding Delegate."

More information on the 2009 GOP state and local campaigns in Arlington is available at www.ArlingtonGOP.org.

Adventure Park, Town Center, or Mini-golf Considered for Glebe/Randolph Corner

2009-06-08T12:03:00.017-05:00

County planners release their ideas for the intersection and hire Brailsford and Dunlavey to analyze the financials and marketability of the space.

This post has been edited twice for clarification since its original post yesterday. Sorry for the confusion and inconvenience. --ST

After about a year of analysis, county planners want to see if an adventure park, a town center, or a mini-golf course would work best in the empty space at the corner of N. Glebe Road and N. Randolph Street, a triangle of grass next to the Ballston Commons Mall parking garage.

Last week the county engaged the services of Brailsford and Dunlavey, a facilities planning firm, to analyze which of the three, if any, would hit the county’s goals to activate the space with an aesthetically pleasing design. At the same time, the programming held there would have to be revenue neutral.

County planner Scott McPartlin said B&D, the firm that helped plan Washington Nationals’ baseball park, will be looking at the financial feasibility and marketability of all three ideas.

“There are good examples of all three [ideas] nationwide,” Mr. McPartlin said.

“I’m hoping the results [from B&D] will be good,” he said. But if not, “we go back to the drawing board.”

This site, adjacent to the Ballston Commons Mall parking lot may become a town square, an adventure park or a mini-golf course. (File photo; click to enlarge the image.)

It would not be the first time back.

In October 2007, the county posted a request for interest in a mini-golf course at the site, and in the spring and summer of 2008, the Buckingham Community Civic Association pushed back, saying that the idea was being forced on the community without enough community input. County planners have maintained that part of their jobs is to narrow choices to those likely to succeed in the space, and that there will be opportunities for input.

In 2008, the county, deciding internally to look closer at the matter, put together an interdepartmental team from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources; Arlington Economic Development; and Community Planning to reinvestigate the use of the space.

Buckingham Community Civic Association President Pat Hope, a leader in the push back a year ago, said that he still wants the county to ask the basic question: “What does the community want?” before they push forward with any idea. A charette regarding the best use of the space, he said, should include the Bluemont, Buckingham, Ballston and Ashton Heights neighborhoods as well as commissions and committees that would have a stake in the project.

Mr. Hope said he takes issue with the idea that the park must be “activated.”

“I haven’t gotten past the original discussion of ‘what do you want here?’” he said. The question to the community would ask whether they want an active or passive park or something else.

“I’m happy that [the offerings are] more than mini-golf, but I still want a discussion,” he said.

He warned the planners that the “worst thing that could happen” is 15 people show up at the county board meeting saying that they don’t like any idea put forward.

“We ought to be the ones to drive this discussion,” he said.

[Other civic leaders could not be reached before this posting. –ST]

The current plan is that B&D will finish their analysis by the end of the summer, and public discussions over the different ideas would occur in the fall, Mr. McPartlin said.

The town center might be a space to hold performances, civic meetings, shows or ceremonies, Mr. McPartlin said. In April, he said the idea that the county had decided only on performance space was a “rumor.” Today, he said that the county is keeping any possible uses of a town center open, even ice skating, though the Kettler Capitals Iceplex sits atop the parking garage adjacent to the park space.

“That’s why we hired B&D, to look at the feasibility,” Mr. McPartlin said. “We’re looking at these ideas as examples. We’re not excluding any one [idea].”

People climb through the massive "MonstroCity" in St. Louis. (Click to enlarge the image; City Musuem of St. Louis. )

The adventure park might include rock climbing and huge climbing structures such as that found at the City Museum of St. Louis or Port Discovery in Baltimore. This might also include a skate boarding park or a wave pool where people could surf or kayak, Mr. McPartlin said.

The "Earthscapes" mini-golf course in Minnesota. Each hole offers a lesson about the effect of water on the earth's surface. (Click to enlarge the image; Science Museum of Minnesota. )

He cited the historic and educational possibilities of mini-golf as a reason to recommend the idea. The “Earthscapes” 9-hole mini-golf course at the Science Museum of Minnesota allows players to see the role of water in shaping the surface of the earth.

“This 30,000 square-foot course gives the words ‘water hazard’ a whole new meaning!” their web site says. In Philadelphia, players putt through the liberty bell and into Independence Hall.

A partnership with a private company most likely will be required in such a way that the company can make a profit while servicing the needs of Arlingtonians. Part of the decision-making will come down to how the financing is structured with a partner, Mr. McPartlin said.

Related stories and sites…

Mini-golf Plans Progressing, September 2007

Mini-golf It Is, June 2008

Earthscapes mini-golf

City Museum of St. Louis

Letter: Feld Hasn't Called Hope "Names"

2009-06-08T09:03:00.004-05:00

Editor:

Where have I ever called Patrick Hope a "name?" Perhaps you're confusing me with someone else? I have criticized Hope on his I-66 widening stance, as well as his endorsement by an anti-helmet-law, Ron Paul supporter. That's about it as far as I know.

- Lowell Feld

Mr. Feld pens "Blue Virginia" a blog that, among other things, supports Miles Grant in the race for the House of Delegates. He is referring in the letter to yesterday's HeraldTrib Today column where I explained why I like Patrick Hope in the race and how I am tired of seeing name calling by Mr. Feld and Ben Tribbett, another blogger supporting Miles Grant. I should have said that Mr. Feld in my opinion is unnecessarily mean-spirited, while Mr. Tribbett is the one who calls people names. --ST

HeraldTrib Today June 5, 2009

2009-06-05T11:55:00.012-05:00

Polls, polls, polls…

The race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, if you haven’t been following, is coming down to the wire, with Creigh Deeds gaining momentum, if the Washington Post and other pollsters are to be believed. (In an odd turn, I was called by some pollster asking if I would be voting for Terry McAuliffe, Creigh Deeds, or Jim Moran. I am guessing that is not a good sign for Jim's brother Brian Moran who is actually running for governor.)

I don’t know of any independent poll in the Democratic primary race in the 47th House of Delegates seat. I was called by the campaigns themselves to give my opinion on those running.

Alan Howze’s, Adam Parkhomenko’s and Miles Grant’s campaigns have conducted “ID calls” or surveys rather than polls.

Polls are much more scientific and ask about age, ethnicity, income and other factors that allow the results to be filtered, their campaigns said. Both Andres Tobar and Pat Hope said they did not conduct polls.

Those that conducted the calls are not giving up the numbers.

Joe Lestingi, Alan Howze’s campaign manager, said that they conducted an ID call, which only asks if voters have decided but does not focus on who has been chosen. It allows the campaign to target undecided voters, he said. Adam Parkhomenko’s campaign said they had conducted an ID call, as well.

Miles Grant emailed back yesterday that a survey he conducted over the Memorial Day weekend did not really generate a whole lot of information, given that it was a holiday weekend. Again, it was not a poll since it did not rise to the level of scientific accuracy.

The survey included only four questions covering a couple topics such as people’s attitudes toward coal-powered electricity, gay marriage and, finally, which of the five candidates the person planned to vote for.

“We got so few responses, I honestly don't even know what the final numbers ended up being -- the only broad takeaways I remember were…that the few responders we got were very supportive of a ban on new coal-fired power plants and full marriage rights for all,” Mr. Grant wrote in an email.

The Alan Howze campaign was not going to tell what they found in their ID call. “I’m not telling you that. It’s like giving away the game plan,” Mr. Lestingi said, adding, “We’re confident.”

Informal discussions with people in- and outside of the campaigns don’t point to a clear winner either, from what I can tell.

“I can tell you this,” Mr. Tobar wrote in an email, “most people are still undecided.”

The primary is held this Tuesday June 9. Voting takes place in your normal voting location:

Buckingham: K.W. Barrett Elementary School, 4401 N. Henderson Road.

Arlington Forest: Culpepper Gardens Senior Center, 4435 N. Pershing Drive.

Ashton Heights: Clarendon United Methodist Church, 606 N. Irving St.

Why I Like Pat Hope…

He’s an honest broker. The stuff on his web site and in his materials that he said he has done in Buckingham, he has done. I’ve seen it.

It might sound like a small step to create the Buckingham Community Civic Association; it might sound as though all he had to do was to get a hundred signatures and he was done. But that’s wrong.

In 2002, about a year before the BCCA was formed, Emanuel Vouvakis tried to start the civic association, and he failed. That September, Mr. Vouvakis held a special meeting to debate the merits of a civic association, and no one showed up. No organizers from the different vested groups attended. When he saw the conflict brewing, Mr. Vouvakis decided the best plan was to draft the by-laws and then rally people to them.

It was Pat Hope, as part of that group, who said at the time exactly what the problem was: the group wanting the association--homeowners mostly--had not gotten buy-in from the renter organizations in the neighborhood first. He told me, when I edited the Buckingham Independent News, that his group needed to work with tenant groups and assure them that their needs would not be “swept under the rug.” There were deep divisions that Pat had to work through, so the process took about a year.

Under Pat’s leadership, the civic association conducted a huge survey of the neighborhood, including going door-to-door with Spanish speakers, a Spanish language version of the survey in hand, to make sure all voices were heard.

That survey became the focus for the neighborhood to move forward, to get county monies for repairs, to build a strategic plan.

I have been in the room with Pat as he mediated a disagreement between two groups at the Buckingham Community Outreach Center, where it was clear those present respected and trusted his leadership. I know it has often been money from his wallet that has paid for gifts that the needy children of Buckingham have received at Christmas time.

During the current campaign, I have liked his focus on the neediest of Virginians. To me, that’s what being a progressive liberal, in the best sense of the word, is. A government should run so as to keep those on the edge from falling over.

That is why I get so angry at the name-calling by the political bloggers supporting Miles Grant. It is not that they support Miles. Miles has run a solid campaign and is standing on a good platform of issues. And it’s not that they are against Pat. I know, as do most people in Arlington, that we can have honest disagreements on issues or on the best ways to handle them.

I have disagreed openly plenty of times on this blog with people and politicians. At times, I have even gotten snarky. Political rhetoric sometimes is biting.

But is name calling really necessary?

That is my problem with Lowell Feld and Ben Tribbett. They don’t seem to understand the difference between a good person with ideas they don’t like and a bad person. Name-calling says the person is bad. Arguing over the issues says the ideas are bad. Frankly, name-calling is childish. Especially when it comes from people who sit on the sidelines and watch while other people do.

Endorsements...

If endorsements are important to you, I would suggest checking out the web sites of the five candidates running for the House of Delegates' 47th seat. This list has grown over the last week. Perhaps the most surprising (actually it seemed almost out-of-the-blue for me) is the endorsement of Adam Parkhomenko by Gen. Wesley Clark.

Below, Patrick Hope was endorsed by Willians Silva, a housing and tenant-issue leader in Buckingham (scroll down for the link).

Web sites for the five candidates:

If you did not see them earlier this week, here are the HeraldTrib interviews with the candidates.

Will the grass remain?...

Will the grass on this corner stand tall or be downtrodden? (Click to enlarge the image.)

Walking by the new construction at the corner of N. Henderson Road and N. Thomas Street, I couldn’t help but notice the shape of the sidewalks. I think the corner will look really nice when the sidewalks are done and the grass has grown in.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of the grass will survive. People being what they are, will--I'm afraid--cut over the grass rather than swerve with the pavement. Alas.

A few things happening over the next couple weeks…

Bethel United Church of Christ is hosting its annual strawberry festival tomorrow, Saturday June 6, 3 to 7p.m. For more information, click here.

Central Library is hosting a high school study night just before finals
The library is located at 1015 N. Quincy Street. Parking is available.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Arlington Oaks Condominium is holding its annual yard sale Saturday June 27:
8:00a.m. to 1:00p.m.

Set up right in front of sellers’ buildings.

Property maps will be available so shoppers can find the sales throughout the community

Towing will be suspended during the yard sale

Advertising will run in area papers, web sites and on signs in the neighborhood.

Today's Headlines:

B'ham Civic Activist Silva Endorses Hope

Police Notes for May 29 to June 3

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS FOR THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES RACE.

Barrett Bus Drivers Heading to Richmond "Rodeo"

Memorial Day Pride of 'Four American Veterans.'

B'ham Civic Activist Silva Endorses Hope

2009-06-05T08:41:00.006-05:00

As a Latino and Arlington resident, I support Pat Hope and I urge everybody to vote for Pat Hope. He has worked hard in the Buckingham neighborhood advocating for our efforts to build a fulbito court and also supports our annual Buckingham Community Festival. Hope is the only candidate of those running for the Virginia Legislature who knows us well and who I can trust to fight for our issues.

Yo, como Latino y residente de Arlington, apoyo a Pat Hope y le pido a toda la comunidad del área que vote por Pat Hope. El ha trabajado fuertemente en el área de Buckingham apoyando los esfuerzos para conseguir nuestro cuadro de juego de fulbito y también apoya nuestro festival anual comunitario de Buckingham. Hope es el único candidato que esta corriendo para el Congreso de Richmond que nos conoce bien y en el cual yo tengo total confianza que que luchará para nuestras intereses.

--Willians Silva

Mr. Silva is a long-time civic activist and affordable housing proponent in Arlington. He lives in the Buckingham neighborhood. "Fulbito" is soccer played on a truncated field (largely in urban/dense areas). --ST

Police Notes for May 29 to June 3

2009-06-05T08:02:00.005-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from in and around the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

May 31: Disorderly Conduct (Arrest), 3200 block of Washington Blvd. At 1a.m., police responded for a report of a fight. One suspect was disorderly during the police investigation of the fight. Adam Ortberg, 27, of Washington, was charged with Disorderly Conduct. He was released on a summons.

Candidate Interviews: House of Delegates, 47

2009-06-02T09:30:00.012-05:00

I sat down with four of the five Democrat Party candidates for the House of Delegates’ race in the 47th District (which includes Buckingham, Arlington Forest, Ballston and Ashton Heights) in the first couple of weeks of May, and have put together the interviews here. The primary election is next Tuesday, June 9. The Green Party has already selected its candidate, Josh Ruebner, and the Republicans have yet to field a candidate.

I hadn’t planned on doing these interviews since I am a friend of candidate Patrick Hope, and I did not want to conduct what might be seen as biased interviews.

But when Alan Howze came to my door and said to me, “Let’s get coffee” in a way that said, “I can change your mind,” I thought if I got coffee with him, why not with everyone? I called and emailed all five candidates and four agreed to sit and talk with me on tape (or, actually, digital recorder). I was up front with all about my leanings toward Mr. Hope, and have always listed my friendship with him at the bottom of articles about the race.

The interviews (see below) with Miles Grant, Patrick Hope, Alan Howze and Adres Tobar took place at various restaurants and coffee shops in the 47th, and lasted 30 to 45 minutes. Adam Parkhomenko’s campaign said he did not have time in his busy schedule to have coffee, despite being the only candidate who has made campaigning a full-time job. Make of that what you will, but to add context, I should say that I pretty much excoriated him after the Arlington County Democratic Committee debate; I was hoping he would want the interview, just to set me straight.

I had a great time conducting these interviews, and I want to take a moment to thank the four candidates for taking time from a very busy campaign season to sit and speak with me. I found the interviews to be a lot of fun and very informative. It’s nice to know that the 47th has strong candidates in this race. In the interest of full disclosure: I bought the coffee, muffins, eggs, toast or whatever else we consumed while chatting.

The full transcripts which I typed ran about 2,500 to 6,000 words. I tried to get these interviews to similar lengths, lengths which I thought would be informative and readable. They each run about 2,000 to 2,300 words, which is long (but don’t worry, the real test isn’t until next Tuesday, June 9. You have week to study-up!). I like the long-form of the responses as I think they show the candidates’ personalities as well as their ideas and policy goals. You’ll find, too, that the candidates work through answers, showing nuance and complete ideas that might not make it into shorter interviews. It makes for convoluted sentences at times, but that’s the nature of a discussion-based interview, rather than something that approximates an interrogation.

Obviously, I cut a lot from each of the interviews, and occasionally I added words to clarify what was left. I edited my questions often to shorten them, and to clarify them.

I often, but not always, cut the word “and” or “but” from the speakers’ words and started a new sentence if the speaker’s sentence was just getting too long, a common problem in these sorts of interviews.

If I took out more than a word or two (or if the words I erased were more substantial than “and” or “but”), I inserted a three-dot ellipsis (…); this was particularly the case when we got off topic, or when the speaker started and then stopped to restart the sentence.

If I inserted anything the speaker did not actually say, I used square brackets [like these] to show my insertion.

Otherwise, the words a wholly theirs, full quotes. Despite having to remove a lot of content from each of the interviews, I try to make sure the quotes still make sense and are in context. I will happily run corrections or clarifications if the candidate or his campaign can show that it is merited.

Click on the names of the candidates below to read each of the interviews. They are listed randomly (the list chosen by coin-flip).

Please review my policy on emails-to-the-editor and comments: emails sent to me, I assume, are meant for publication and will be published so long they come with a name and a neighborhood at the end of them. (Email me here: heraldtrib@gmail.com). Comments can be added to the end of any of the interviews. They may be anonymous (though I encourage everyone to use their names). Libelous, potentially libelous, or overly mean comments will be erased; emails with similar content will not be published.

Related campaign web sites…

Interview: Miles Grant

2009-06-02T08:58:00.009-05:00

The interview with Mr. Grant took place on Friday May 8 at the Bruegger's Bagels in Ballston.
To get this interview, as well as the others that I conducted, to a similar, readable size, I had to cut quite a bit of material. If I took out more than a word or two (or if the words I erased were more substantial than “and” or “but”), I inserted a three-dot ellipsis (…). If I inserted anything the speaker did not actually say, I used square brackets [like these] to show my insertion.
Otherwise, the words are full quotes. Despite having to remove a lot of content from each of the interviews, I try to make sure the quotes still make sense and are in context. I will happily run corrections or clarifications if the candidate or his campaign can show that it is merited.

My own questions were edited, at times, for clarity and length.--ST

Buckingham HeraldTrib (Steve Thurston): Pre-school for all Virginia’s kids, Universal Pre-K, is supported by all the candidates in the race. It lost during the last legislative session. Assuming we don’t have the money again in the upcoming year for this, what’s your second-best idea for this?

Miles Grant: How that gets dealt with next year, is going to depend on the outcomes of the elections in November, that it depends on who has control of the House of Delegates. It depends on who has control of the governor’s mansion.

That’s why, as a Democrat, I think it’s so critical that whoever gets the [gubernatorial] nomination, be it Terry [McAuliffe], be it Brian [Moran], be it Creigh [Deeds], we campaign our butts off for them, and that we try to pick up those six seats in the House of Delegates…Then I think you’re going to look for some new sources of revenue to try to pay for education, and try to prevent us from having to make too many draconian cuts in the budget…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

When I talk about Universal Pre-K, I see it as more of a long-term goal, along the lines of the clean energy goals that I talk about, along with marriage rights for all. But it’s something we’re going to have to fight for and strive towards, but in the short term, we have to play a little defense with the budget, just because of the economic climate that we’re in.

BHT: But do you see a short-term win?

MG: If anything what we’re looking at is trying to provide a higher level of funding state-wide so that communities don’t have to rely so much on things like property taxes for their education budget because we are talking about the two Virginias…We have northern Virginia which certainly provides for the needs of its children, for the needs of its special-needs kids, for the needs of its bi-lingual kids.

In the rest of the state, I think there’s a real question of whether we’re providing that minimal level of education in the rest of the state. We have places where the drop-out rate is approaching 40 percent. In places like that, forget about things like universal Pre-K, which we’re talking about achieving at a high level. We’re talking about failing at a bare minimum of getting our kids a high school diploma.

BHT: At the Arlington County Democratic Committee debate Andres Tobar said, I thought rightly, that if we think we’re getting off coal quickly to move to clean energy, we’re fooling ourselves.

MG: …I wish he wouldn’t say things like that because who’s talking about getting rid of coal tomorrow? Nobody. No environmentalist is talking about getting rid of coal tomorrow, and stuff like that is really playing into the Republican talking points that, ‘Oh, we can never get off fossil fuels, so why should we try?’

When we talk about our goals for clean energy, look at President [Barack] Obama’s goal: 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. That’s something that’s long-term, that’s achievable. And when we talk about these things, we’re really talking about starting the transformation now because Americans go into this shock-and-trance thing when it comes to fossil fuels. We get shocked by the $4-a-gallon gas prices. Then they come back down and we go into this trance where, well maybe if we don’t do anything, everything will stay the same, and you know, we’ll be fine.

But now is the time that we need to start moving away from some of these things. I mean, you know energy bills went up 18 percent in September, 1.5 percent in January, and now Dominion [Dominion Virginia Power Co.] wants to raise them another seven percent. That’s due to the rising cost of coal.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

I think when somebody goes around saying, oh, well we can’t get off coal tomorrow, well when are we going to get off coal? When is it OK for us to get off coal? If not tomorrow, what about next week? What about next month? What about next year?

BHT: So what do you want to do in Richmond in January, along those lines?

MG: I think the first thing we need to do is frame this as an economic issue. Republicans aren’t going to get on board with us because we’re trying to save the planet, or anything like that. But if we can, say, Look, let’s do an efficiency bill where we’re trying to save consumers money on their energy bills, that we’re trying to weatherize people’s homes.

We’re trying to make Dominion [Virginia Power Company] more of a partner…Dominion currently makes their profit by selling us as much energy as possible. If our home isn’t so energy efficient, that’s no skin off their back. So I think an efficiency bill is first step toward that. It’s businesses here in Virginia that are starting to say, there’s opportunities here for clean energy.

You see the commercials that are on TV now that single windmill needs 250 tons of steel. Well, where are those windmills going to get built? Are we going to let them get built in Pennsylvania, are we going to let them get built in Germany? Or are we going to build them here?…

Look at the last few elections. In 2004, this was not talked about on a national level. In the governor’s race with Governor [Tim] Kaine and [Terry] Kilgore, this wasn’t talked about. But for the first time, you’ve seen President Obama talk about it. Now you’re seeing McAuliffe and Moran talk about it.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

And I think the more voters hear about it, the more they’re going to expect not a Democratic or Republican solution, but a solution. The party of “No” is not going to be the right answer anymore. And if you see people like [Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob] McDonnell just saying, oh, “Drill, baby, drill,” voters are going to realize that that’s not a real answer, and Republicans are going to have to get on board with something.

BHT: You stepped out with a campaign pledge not to take contributions from Dominion Power or their employees. Now you’re saying we’ve got to make Dominion a partner. Was that pledge a statement you felt you needed to say to get elected, but something else is how I really feel, or what?

MG: There’s a difference between working with somebody and taking their giant checks…There’s a difference between having fund-raisers at Dominion executives’ houses, and saying, ‘Look, I’m not interested in your check, but I do want you to be a partner with us.’ I think there has to be a happy medium in there somewhere, and Virginia politicians tend not to find that when it comes to large checks and contributions. I’m just saying, look, I want to have an objective relationship with you, where we’re working together for consumers, and it’s not about, quid-pro-quo, or anything like that.

I’ve talked to some delegates from Richmond who’ve said ‘It’s easy for you to talk tough on Dominion when you’re not down here.’ I say, look, I’ll talk tough, but when it comes time to sit down at the negotiating table, let’s cut a deal.

BHT: You have gotten support from the gay and lesbian community. The way I’ve heard it, is that you’re tending toward getting the younger people from that community while the older people are tending toward Pat Hope.

MG: Sure. Well, I think the question is, do you want somebody who’s going to be, you know, more of the bolder person who’s going to be stepping out and saying marriage rights for all, you know, like we were talking about, you know, marriage rights for all sooner, or marriage rights for all later? Patrick at the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance was saying, I don’t think we can do this right now. I would disagree with that. I think we’ve got to start fighting now, or else when is it OK to start fighting? Next year? Next decade? I don’t know.

BHT: At the ACDC debate you listed gas taxes as a way to fund transportation. (Currently they’re about $0.38 a gallon, $0.19 federal, $0.18, state.) Where do you think it should be and why that level?

MG: Gov. Kaine had proposed in the past year raising it 30 cents. I think that’s a very sensible first step. I think long term we need to give drivers a pricing that will say, look when you’re going to buy that next car, gas prices are going to be a bit higher than they are now. So that hybrid that you’re thinking about buying is going to be a good investment. Drivers right now have absolutely no idea where gas prices is going be, and if you buy a [Toyota] Prius right now, you’re sort of making that leap of faith that gas prices are going to stay high or even if they go lower, well it’s going to make me feel good.

Feeling good is not going to get us out of the climate crisis and our energy crisis. We need to give people a cost certainty and I feel the gas tax is one way to do that. The added benefit of the gas tax is that we can then take that revenue and spend it either on the funding that Metro needs or on the funding for our road maintenance that it needs.

I think the one thing that we’ve done poorly lately is focus on expanding our existing roads. And that’s not a solution. Those beltway HOT [High Occupancy Toll] lanes they’re putting in…a month after they’re done, they’re going to be full. Drivers are going to be complaining that they’re not really helping them get anywhere faster because the people who right now are taking [Route] 123 or Glebe Road or something like that are going to be trying to get on these HOT lanes. Same with expanding [Interstate] 66. People who take back roads now, or who take Route 50 now, or who take public transportation now, will think, ‘Oh, 66 is wider, it will take me there in two minutes.’ Well, it won’t.

BHT: You first entered the race before Al Eisenberg, the incumbent, got out of the race. I was curious about your strategy there.

MG: I’ve been very open…I’m not going to be the guy with the most money in this race. I’m not going to be the guy who gets the most [Democratic Party] establishment support. But I do think I have the strongest message when it comes to the progressive issues that we care about: clean energy and climate action, civil liberties for all Virginians, and community engagement and civic activism. Getting into the race early allowed me to build that volunteer base. Now I get 10 people for every volunteer event that I have. And that’s really going to be my edge in this race…

I’m 31 now. I’ll be 32 in November…I’ve got enough of a resume to run on. Chair of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment. Chair of Community Volunteer Network. [I’ve worked on] Arlington Young Democrats and helping out with the [President Barack] Obama campaign.

I’ve been here. I’ve been fighting for these issues. It’s not like I’m just popping out of the weeds and saying, “OK everybody, here I am.”

Click here to return to the main interview site. --ST

Interview: Patrick Hope

2009-06-02T08:26:00.005-05:00

The interview with Mr. Hope took place on Friday May 1 at the Starbucks Coffee in the Ballston Commons Mall.
To get this interview, as well as the others that I conducted, to a similar, readable size, I had to cut quite a bit of material. If I took out more than a word or two (or if the words I erased were more substantial than “and” or “but”), I inserted a three-dot ellipsis (…). If I inserted anything the speaker did not actually say, I used square brackets [like these] to show my insertion.
Otherwise, the words are full quotes. Despite having to remove a lot of content from each of the interviews, I try to make sure the quotes still make sense and are in context. I will happily run corrections or clarifications if the candidate or his campaign can show that it is merited.

My own questions were edited, at times, for clarity and length.--ST

Buckingham HeraldTrib (Steve Thurston): You really can’t be sure who’s going to come out and vote. I don’t get a sense that people are motivated to vote.

Patrick Hope: We’re to the point now where we’re starting to really [make] distinct the differences between the five of us. The main thing that we talk about a lot is first my community experience. You know, I’ve been active in the community for the last 10 years. Whether it’s civic association things, or Special Olympics or it’s human services, affordable housing, all those things I’ve been involved in over the years. That’s one thing that distinguishes me from the other candidates…

I’m responsible for bringing in several million dollars into Arlington. And by working together with people, and bringing together interest groups at the local level…As chair of the community services board, we oversaw, mental health, substance abuse, and intellectual disabilities. All three of those different disability groups have three different interests, and they’re not always the same. They all have their groups. Their parents are out there. They’re very single [issue] focused. And it’s a challenge to bring even those groups together into one…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

So, at the local level, we’ve been able to all of us get together on the same page. It means, though, that we leave stuff off the table. Everyone comes to the table with their interests, but they also leave that meeting, meaning that some of their high priorities are not going to be dealt with. So, we all come together on a single, common message, whatever that may be for the year…

Compromise is hard. But the stakes are just so high. So many people are suffering that, you know, if it means that thousands of more people are being served today than weren’t before, it’s worth it. You always have an end goal,…you always have this ideal where Virginia should be in caring for the most vulnerable populations…

Virginia ranks seventh in the nation in income per capita but yet we rank 48th in the nation in Medicaid funding. So, think about it, our funding, our safety net program for the sickest, the poorest people…those people get the short end of the stick every time. Every time. So many people are not even covered.

If they want these services—whether it’s health care, they end up going to the emergency room when it’s frequently too late, and it’s so expensive, we’ll cover them there. I mean, we’ll pay for a $40,000 foot amputation, but we won’t pay for a $140 visit to the podiatrist…

[We need to] focus on preventive care…

BHT: What are we talking about in an economy like this? Where’s the money going to come from?

PH: We spend the money in the system. We don’t have to spend a dime. And I wouldn’t even propose that we spend more money, more tax dollars. We have enough money in the system, we just spend it in the wrong places…

I mean, think of it this way: when someone comes into the jail, that’s an addict, they get out of jail still an addict. Someone who has a serious mental illness, they come in with mental illness, they go out still mentally ill…It’s a merry-go-round…

One thing I’ve been active in creating in Arlington is a drug court. Someone that is presented with a misdemeanor, not a felony, but I’m talking about a misdemeanor, maybe it’s possession. We’re tending to see that their rates of recidivism are very high. So they’ll be back in jail for another reason once we let them off with this misdemeanor, but the next crime it won’t be a misdemeanor, it’ll be a felony. It’ll be burglary. They’ve got to support their habit. And so if we can get to them early and start getting them treatment—and we’ve seen efforts with drug courts that are very rigorous and the rates of recidivism are extremely low.

BHT: But that can’t be cheap, either. It seems to me what it takes is an intense will of the person to want to get dry and sober, and an intense will of the system to sort of continually chip at this person to keep him or her dry and sober. It seems to me that we’ve used the prison model because, though possibly expensive, it’s fast and doable.

PH: It doesn’t work, though…and there’s a real incentive for the individual to get into this [drug court] program. It’s very rigorous,…almost daily drug tests, you have to be actively searching for a job, and you appear before the court on a weekly basis…If you fail, then the punishment is more stricter than it would have been originally. But the incentive to do it is that the crime will be stricken from your record…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

BHT: Your ideas for preventative health care is basically the HMO model, right? Get people care regularly before they need it.

PH: It is, but you have to make sure that it’s run correctly. First of all, you’ve got to be in the system. Right now people aren’t in the system. So there’s no incentive for you to even get care…

What they’ve done in North Carolina is first they’ve expanded coverage…to bring more people into the system. And for those most expensive chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, asthma, hypertension, the most expensive and the most common ones, for the rural areas—this works very well in the rural areas—is you make sure you have case managers and nurses.

Once you identify the diabetic, you go to their home, literally [a case worker] goes to their home and makes sure the patient know how to check their blood, makes sure that they are eating right; they’re taking their medications, they get them filled. If they need an appointment with a podiatrist, not only is the appointment set, but they actually have transportation to get there. They actually make sure that they show up to do it. That way, you’re managing their disease…

BHT: I can hear conservatives, and even the conservative part of myself, saying that we’re too involved. Are you sure this is revenue neutral?

PH: It is. North Carolina did a study on it, and they spent $10 million on their case managers. And just to be clear, the case managers and the nurses are in the rural areas. In the urban areas, like northern Virginia, you put the money in the practice. North Carolina pays $2.50 per month per patient…So, let’s say I have 500 patients under Medicaid with heart disease…I would get paid $2.50 per month per patient to manage their care. So I would hire the nurse.

BHT: Wait. $2.50 times 500—what is that, at most $1,500 a month for a nurse?

PH: Think of it this way, you probably can already absorb that in your practice, anyway.

BHT: Oh, please. How many doctors are lining up to absorb this?

PH: Many of them are because they get together, and so the practices will sort of team-up, and they’ll share a nurse between several different practices. The model works very well because you get paid whether or not someone comes in your practice or not…So you have an incentive to keep them out of the office, to keep them well.

BHT: Or to not know what’s going on with them.

PH: That’s a problem because Medicaid will know. They’ll wind up in the emergency room and there’ll be a cost. The data they’ve had since 2006 in North Carolina, they’ve spent $10 million on all of this. And they save $260 million every year in a reduction in their Medicaid expenditures. So North Carolina’s doing this; Pennsylvania’s doing it; Wisconsin is doing it…

BHT: What happens when a patient disappears? These people are on the edge, so they might just disappear. And if they end up in the hospital, what teeth does Medicaid have to censure the doctor since a doctor could say, “Hey, I was here, it’s not my fault they didn’t come in.”

PH: There’s an [annual] accreditation process, where you have to make sure that you have the staff and that people actually are communicating. If you fail these things, then you’re out of the program. It’s not just $2.50, just to be clear. You still get paid for the visit. You’re still getting Medicaid reimbursement…

All that to my point was that I think we already spend enough money in the system. I think if we were just to spend it differently we could spend it in different ways, we could save a lot of money and expand services, expand care to people.

Another area is homelessness…I was very instrumental in starting [Arlington’s] Housing First program, permanent supportive housing…a ten-year plan to end homelessness. Since 2006, we have placed over a hundred people in our permanent supportive housing program. We’re taking people that are homeless off the streets and give them a home… They’re [the homeless are] not thinking about getting a job. They’re not thinking about seeing a psychiatrist. They’re thinking about where [they’re] going to sleep tonight…

We’ve found that when you give someone an affordable housing unit that they start to think about getting a job. They start thinking about trying to see a psychiatrist, getting clean and sober. And then they do do that next step…

It costs over $100,000 to keep someone homeless…but to give them a home, it costs $40,000 a year…So it’s a different way to spend money.

BHT: Everybody at the Arlington County Democratic Committee debate said they supported universal Pre-school. Assuming the budget is still tight, what would be the second best program or alternate idea that you would fight for?

PH: The compromise is at-risk kids. We can identify who those kids are. They’re kids at low-income, many kids are from minority families. There’s been data out there, studies out there, that show that there really is no difference between the kids that are from wealthy families and how they perform in later years, whether they get Pre-K or not, but there is a significant gap and a significant distinction for those kids that are at-risk who get Pre-K and those who do not. So the evidence clearly shows that if you’re going to target any population it ought to be those at-risk kids, so that would be my fall-back position on expanding Pre-K. I know it’s a cost…but it’s an investment, too.

BHT: About the environment and energy policy. What can we really do in the next year or two in reducing coal emissions and that kind of thing?

PH: You know, I don’t think we’re going to be able to flip the switch and cut ourselves off of coal. I’ve said before, I think coal is our past and its present, but it doesn’t have to be our future. We’re not going to be able to flip that switch…I do think if coal represents about 45 percent of our energy right now, there’s no reason to say…we can reduce this by five percent a year, about every five years.

BHT: But how?

PH: I think we start looking to renewables, wind and solar. I think everything should be on this table, natural gas. I mean I saw a picture of [gubenatorial candidate Terry] McAuliffe wading in algae, you know, seeing if you could use that, and he talks about chicken waste. Look at all the different options, put them all on the table, and let’s slowly reduce the amount of our consumption of using coal…

And let’s set a standard, a mandatory standard, of saying let’s reduce our consumption by 2025, let’s reduce it by 20 percent. And that 20 percent, we replace it with renewables. You go down to the coal country, and you ask those workers what they know about black lung disease, what they know about their average life-span of ending at 55-years-old, or what they know about asthma, or not allowing their kids to play out in the front yard. They’d like a new life for themselves. They’d like a new job, a green job. And invest, invest in these coal areas, you know, put some of these facilities down there, so people can transition and get a new job…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Let’s teach this [lower consumption] in the schools. Let’s teach [children] about consumption. And let’s teach them about…conserving. It’s the lightbulb, and it’s also turning off the light. Families can have responsibilities, too. Weatherizing your home. Let’s have a program where we can weatherize homes. Let’s reduce your consumption individually by 10 or 15 percent over the next few years…

BHT: [Readers: this final question was one I had on my mind a lot, but never wrote down. Therefore, I forgot to ask it in the interview. I wrote it as an email, and Mr. Hope responded via email. ] As a long-serving member of the Arlington Democratic Party, you’re the "establishment" candidate. How do you (or do you at all) shake that moniker?

PH: I'm proud of my endorsements in this race because I know how I received them: I earned them. I've established my credibility and reputation over the years not in the Party but in the community. These endorsements come from my associations, efforts, and years of working with community leaders to make Arlington a better place.

The support I've received are not from IOU's or friendships, they are made out of mutual respect and appreciation for the results I've delivered. Arlington's State and County delegation is made up of some of the best policymakers and thought leaders in the country and I'm honored to have their support. I look forward to continuing to work with them as a member of the General Assembly.

Click here to return to the main interview site. --ST

Interview: Andres Tobar

2009-06-02T07:44:00.007-05:00

The interview with Mr. Tobar took place on Monday April 27 at the Silver Diner in Clarendon.
To get this interview, as well as the others that I conducted, to a similar, readable size, I had to cut quite a bit of material. If I took out more than a word or two (or if the words I erased were more substantial than “and” or “but”), I inserted a three-dot ellipsis (…). If I inserted anything the speaker did not actually say, I used square brackets [like these] to show my insertion.
Otherwise, the words are full quotes. Despite having to remove a lot of content from each of the interviews, I try to make sure the quotes still make sense and are in context. I will happily run corrections or clarifications if the candidate or his campaign can show that it is merited.

My own questions were edited, at times, for clarity and length.--ST

Buckingham HeraldTrib (Steve Thurston): What are some of the stories that you’ve heard when you’ve knocked on doors?

Andres Tobar: I’ve heard from one parent who commented that but for Medicaid his whole family would have been devastated, and thank God the state does have programs that are offering a helping hand for folks in crisis, or when some of their children have certain illnesses that they couldn’t cope by themselves with, so they get a helping hand…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

In fact one of the questions that was asked in one of the debates was what would we cut in light of fiscal situations. What I indicated is, rather than saying what I would cut, I said what I would preserve. Number one is I would preserve our fund for education because I’m very firm that my first priority is education, to make sure that every child gets a shot. I’m a strong advocate for universal pre-school. So as children are ready to come to school, let’s make sure they’re ready to learn.

I did not learn how to speak English until I started the first grade. My parents were immigrants from Mexico. I hope you don’t think I’m playing the immigrant card too hard, but there’s stories at times, you know, that we bring. Our backgrounds are so different, and at times we see people speaking in English, and after awhile we can’t tell the difference of who’s doing what, and we assume everybody’s stories are the same, and they’re not…

BHT: Universal Pre-school died this year when Gov. Tim Kaine tried to get it passed through the legislature, yet it's something all the candidates in this race support. Assuming that the economy is in the same shape next year, what is the second best plan, less than Universal Pre-K, but something that would get at what you’re hoping for?

AT: …Once you get down there, it’s going to be the art of negotiation and compromise. I know that. I’m a very, very realist. But what I’d like to do is make sure that as many young people as possible are going to be having access to this, so they get ready to learn.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

As I was pointing out to you, when I was a child, I didn’t know how to speak English until the first grade, and for the first four years, I was learning the language, not the content…You’re trying to figure out how to put those phrases together as opposed to trying to learn the history or all the other things in the content that you’re learning…

You know we have a nine percent drop-out rate for drop-outs in general,…for Latinos it’s a 20 percent rate…We need to take some initiative of how to engage these young people, provide a variety of things like tutoring and counseling and other things that are going to give them the assistance they need to catch-up….

Of course, with respect to teachers, I want teachers to be very competitive in terms of salaries. I would love to have teachers and our police and fire-fighters and our hard-working men and women in blue collar industries to also be able to afford to live in Arlington. I’m a strong proponent of affordable housing.

BHT: Another question in education. Tell me more about the federal DREAM Act that would allow kids who might not have all the documentation, but have been here for years to go to college paying in-state tuition.

AT: …That would be for our young people who are going through our schools and graduating from our schools and their parents are paying taxes, and they’re either on the way to become legal or as soon as they’re eligible, they will start in the program. But actually the DREAM Act goes further than that….[In Virginia] we’re trying to pass something that is somewhat comparable but somewhat palatable for the legislature that we’ve got down there.

The DREAM Act literally would allow for the young people that are graduating from schools that wanted to go to college to be allowed to go to college [with] in-state tuition….As they do that they… would be on a course to become legal residents. And so that would get away from all the challenges that we have right now with respect to immigration…

BHT: And so being a part of the DREAM Act would be a part of becoming a citizen?

AT: Yes, yeah. And it’s something that is very logical, because doesn’t it make sense that we’ve got young people that want to go to college and stay in this country, that we ought to give them a way of doing that? This is going to be the workforce of tomorrow…

BHT: I can hear the conservatives screaming at you right now. You’re either rewarding people who haven’t followed the rules by waiting in their own countries for the chance at immigration, and then you’re giving a spot in college at a lower tuition to them when it could have gone to someone here legally, either by birth or immigration. Does that make sense?

AT: You’re presenting the arguments correctly, but I’m not sure it makes sense….The way that the immigrant advocates have responded to that is the parents are the ones that broke the law. The children came here like any other child would do when their parents tell them to come….The ‘line issue’ is something that you can raise, in terms of getting in line and waiting your turn. You can impose that anywhere along the way.

(Click to enlarge the image.)

The reality check is that these are young people that came over here with their parents. They went to school here. They’ve educated in our schools. We’ve invested literally tens of thousands of dollars. We’ve educated them. They’re prepared to learn in our universities, and they want to. We’re not talking about the ones that drop out or the ones that don’t care…We’re talking about a very small number. I mean, we’re not talking hundreds of thousands of kids…

Prior to 9/11, there was a process. It wasn’t perfect, but there was a process. If an employer had a job, needed a worker, he could put an ad in the paper,…identify that they have a particular need….But after 9/11, you had a major challenge. We had a full court press by the anti-immigrant lobby, and they shut down everything…

BHT: Do you see that as something Virginia can do? Or is it only a federal issue?

AT: The federal government is the only one that has authority over immigrant issues.

BHT: But I mean, is there a role for Virginia to take an advocacy role for that policy idea?

AT: The answer would be an advocacy role, but obviously right now we’re getting just the opposite. You know, clamoring and trying to make local ordinances that would penalize folks who are undocumented, getting the police departments to play a greater role in immigration, as opposed to dealing with the crimes…The legislature kept killing legislation that would allow for undocumented immigrants not to be asked their immigration status, if they were victims or witnesses of crimes. That failed. That was a cruel, cruel set-back…

BHT: At the Arlington County Democratic Committee debate, you said a state law you’d like to see replicated here was Maryland’s driver’s license program. You see the idea that people, even undocumented people, should be allowed to get a driver’s license as a public safety issue, knowing that the people on the road have passed the tests and have insurance. How do you balance that with the greater Homeland Security-type public safety?

AT: I’m not sure exactly how they’re doing it in Maryland…That opportunity is being sunsetted, as far as I know…

There are people who may not be able to prove that they are here legally, so it would be a license that could be issued indicating that this is a license that the bearer will use for driving purposes only, and for no other purpose. There are ways…that you’d do it subtely, but yet everybody in any kind of official capacity would know…that this is only for driving purposes…

[You] would know who they are when you stop them as opposed to having no license at all. They would need to learn our laws and get a driver’s license. Then they could get insurance for their car. And they’d comply with all the rest of the laws. Mainly people are working, whether you say legitimately or not, and they need to travel and they will travel…

BHT: Well, that was about it. Is there anything I missed that you wanted to talk about?

AT: …I’m the chair of the Arlington County Crime Solvers. The reason I got involved in that is literally to find ways of reducing crime, especially reaching out to the immigrant community…and they want to provide a tip, that’s one way of doing it without getting involved.

I’m also on the chief-of-police advisory committee. We talk to him every couple of months….and I bring up issues that are happening in our community, concerns and suggestions. I’m very—I can’t say ‘pro-police’—I’m very pro-having-a-safe-environment, safe society….I know that the immigrant community, for the most part, is law-abiding…

Where I work at Shirlington…some of them [the clients of the center] have a very good work ethic. For the most part, most of them do. But the ones that are the problem, are the ones that get all the notoriety, and makes it harder on everybody else.

BHT: For us, in Buckingham, it’s public drunkenness and urination, and that kind of thing. You only have to see that once a week to be highly annoyed by it.

AT: In all candor, I also am the coordinator of another group that has started in October of last year that we call Arlington Service providers to the poor….We’re having a meeting actually on the 20th….The issue this time is going to be alcoholism in Arlington…We’ve united folks from all the “A”s—[community providers:] ASPAN, AFAC, you know, AMEN, plus Doorways and the county to get together and talk about these issues, dealing with the poor that are going to impact us probably even moreso in the next few years while we’re going through this change in economic climate…

The community and the churches and everybody has got to step up and say ‘Hey guys, this isn’t where you came from, where you could get away with [it]. Here, you will pay a price. You will be fined, and you will be jailed….If you’re going to drink, drink responsibly.’ That’s the message I want to send. Let’s bring some responsibility…

[Latinos] and the African-Americans, and the poor whites, they have lost hope. We’ve got to instill in them the fact that they can make it, and that there is an opportunity…I am probably in the one percent, if not less, that made it through high school and college and a master’s degree and of immigrant parents who were both illiterate…

The things that are going on in the immigrant community right now, with the immigrant-bashing…it’s devastating.

What I’m very critical of is supervisors in Prince William [County, not the just the chairman] but the other guy who said that he’s going to submit an ordinance that would eliminate any services whatsoever to undocumented immigrants. He watered it down, but it got tremendous press, including the Latino media. And one of the things I point out is that the immigrant community does not know that the local supervisor does not have the authority to overturn the [United States] Supreme Court that says that every child, irrespective of status, is going to get an education. They do not know that there is a federal mandate that hospitals are required to take anybody who is sick. They don’t know that. So, many of the kids, or the families of the kids, were keeping the kids at home. They thought that that ordinance had passed. That is not fair.

That’s part of what I want to do in Richmond…I want to go down there and make sure that we change a few things around this kind of way, on a one-to-one basis with a lot of folks.

The upbringing that I have, the reason I think I can be effective across the aisle, my background in terms of standing on our feet and doing it on our own has been bred in me from youth. My dad was a farm worker in west Texas. From November to late February, there was no work whatsoever. My dad would buy 100 pounds of flour and corn meal and beans and rice and coffee, and the only thing he would go to the store to buy is perishables. And so we never took a dime from anybody else. No welfare, no unemployment, nothing…

BHT: What neighborhood do you live in?

AT: I live in Filmore Garden Apartments in Penrose [neighborhood]….Let me point out something: I lived in the 47th 23 years, not consistently, but I owned a condominium, and six years ago, I was invited to consider running for the House of Delegates in the 49th, which would be south of Columbia Pike, and I moved to be south of Columbia Pike. I received the endorsement of every major Democrat in Arlington, including the incumbent Karen Darner. So I moved there. I stayed there.

Six months ago I moved across Columbia Pike. If I’m going to be nailed for crossing the street, I’ve got 23 years of living in the 47th which is more than one person…has lived, or equal to, his life. A lot more than some other people have…People who don’t want to vote for me for being a carpet-bagger, I’m sure they could find something else, find another reason.

Click here to return to the main interview site. --ST

Interview: Alan Howze

2009-06-02T04:46:00.014-05:00

The interview with Mr. Howze took place on Sunday May 17 at the Silver Diner in Clarendon.
To get this interview, as well as the others that I conducted, to a similar, readable size, I had to cut quite a bit of material. If I took out more than a word or two (or if the words I erased were more substantial than “and” or “but”), I inserted a three-dot ellipsis (…). If I inserted anything the speaker did not actually say, I used square brackets [like these] to show my insertion.
Otherwise, the words are full quotes. Despite having to remove a lot of content from each of the interviews, I try to make sure the quotes still make sense and are in context. I will happily run corrections or clarifications if the candidate or his campaign can show that it is merited.

My own questions were edited, at times, for clarity and length.--ST

Buckingham HeraldTrib (Steve Thurston): One question that I’ve been asking everybody, is that at the Arlington County Democratic Committee debate, everyone said they supported Universal Pre-school. That failed earlier this year, and assuming the economy is still rough next year, I was wondering if you have ideas for something that you would be happy with as a compromise.

Alan Howze: There are sort of two different ways of looking at universal Pre-K, and one of the purposes of that is to really help bridge the gap between the kids who are getting a lot of stimulation at home, that kind of thing, right? Versus kids who aren’t getting that same level of exposure to reading….

There are a couple of different ways, and I think different localities and different states have played with this a little bit is can you, for example, could you provide tax credits for childcare, or for, you know, daycare, Pre-K services. Arlington has an existing network of Pre-K services…There are dozens of pre-school programs within Arlington, and for families who can afford those, they provide tremendous learning opportunities for students.

In terms of a social policy goal, how do you make some of that more accessible and make those learning opportunities more accessible to students and families who may not be able to afford it? If we’re unable to do it all of universal Pre-K, are there ways that you could begin to improve the development opportunities that are available to the Spanish or lower-income students? I think there probably is.

BHT: So, are you thinking to expand what’s already there? Use what already exists?

AH: Yes. Again, the first preference would be to build out a true universal Pre-K system. That would mean both a build-out of facilities that are appropriate for kids of that age as well as the curriculum…

I think also the challenge is then how do you make sure you maintain popular support for it, for universal Pre-K…That’s where I think where the preference for a truly universal Pre-K program comes into play because that’s also part of the history of public education in the United States is you paid for it. Once you made it universal then you’re also pulling in support from middle-class families and other folks who are currently paying for it out of their pocket.

BHT: Your web site that you wanted to help make developers have to change their proportion of their development toward affordable housing. How so?

AH: Well, I think that Arlington actually has put that into some of their development and zoning packages, so I think that there’s some of that tools that currently exist for localities. I think Arlington has probably been at the forefront of this in terms of trying to put affordable housing into the development mix…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

I think there are a couple of approaches when you’re talking about affordable housing. One is, I mean I think, part of what we saw in the inflation of housing prices not only in northern Virginia but all over was allowing bad actors in the lending marketplace to otherwise run rampant. Certainly I think this is an issue where there is some state involvement, state regulation that’s required, and needs to be cracking down on predatory lenders, that sort of thing…

Then I think another area that’s playing a little bit around the margins in terms of the affordability of housing but property taxes are substantial for a lot of folks in Arlington, particularly seniors who are on fixed incomes and other folks. Part of the reason that Arlington has, and other localities have, to look to property taxes for more of their revenues is because the state share for education funding has decreased over time. The overall tax burden has shifted back down to localities to some degree. So, localities primarily make up that difference through property taxes. By increasing the overall state funding for things like education you do relieve some of that pressure on localities to turn to the property taxes…

BHT: The one big question is sort of “What have you been doing the last four years?” You worked for Gov. Mark Warner, and you live in Arlington, but when I look at your information, I don’t see a whole lot in the 47th District.

AH: I left the governor’s administration and went back to graduate school, went to Darden School of Business at [the University of Virginia]. Did two years up there and then came back to Arlington, and started working for IBM, up here, and really had focused my attention on, one, a new job in a new career area that I hadn’t worked in before.

BHT: What is that?

(Click to enlarge the image.)

AH: It’s consulting services for public-sector agencies, primarily federal agencies around transformation initiatives, IT implementation, that kind of thing. One of the experiences, the reason I chose IBM to go work for was after spending over a decade of working in policy and politics at that sort of level of government, I really wanted to get an experience of, OK when we talk about transforming government services, when we talk about providing more accessibility to citizens, and we talk about making government more efficient, OK, how do you actually do that?…

IBM was one of the places that provided an opportunity to really go in on and see and learn and understand how you really can go about transforming government services…

And I also had young children, so my son was a year, about a year, I guess, when we moved back up to the area, and my wife, we had our second one who’s now 17 months old…

So I spent over a decade working in politics and working on campaigns, working to elect Democrats, and so I said I’m going to turn my attention to focus on my family and my work. And that’s what I did for the first two years, and then began to get more involved in the community in terms of the civic associations.

I actually live at the border of two, so I was the member of two civic associations, Highland Park and Overlee Knolls….So, began to get a little more involved with that. We worked on President [Barack] Obama’s campaign, we did some door knocking, we did some precinct work in Dominion Hills and Overlee Hills, helped raise money and that sort of thing. That was the community involvement, and had started to get more involved in the community in different ways.

In politics, timing counts for a lot, and so if the seat had come open in five years, I might have a community resume that looks different than it does now…

BHT: You had listed increasing the gas tax as a source of transportation funding. I was curious how much more you think it should be and why?

AH: To be honest with you, it’s not that I’ve run the numbers to say we need to raise the gas tax by X number of cents on the gallon. What we need to look at is, what are the transportation requirements that we have? And then what are the funding mechanisms that are available to us? So is it that we just need to look at raising the gas tax? Is that the only solution? Maybe, but maybe not. You know, is it some combination of the gas tax and the sales tax increase, a half-penny or something like that…The [car] title and those sorts of fees as well contribute to the fund as well. So, what is the mix of revenue sources that gives you the funding that you need…

(Click to enlarge the image.)

There are transportation requirements—the needs part—and then we have to look at, OK, what are the requirements for funding? And the requirements for funding are that it be broad-based and that it be stable.

Because, if we’re going to make the sorts of investments in mass transit, you’re going to have to put out bonds to do that because these are large public works, infrastructure projects. It’s not $5 million to do an interchange, that kind of thing. It’s hundreds of millions of dollars to add capacity to metro, that sort of thing…

BHT: Candidate Miles Grant went with the “I’m not taking Dominion Power money” and everyone jumped on you because you’ve taken money from executives there. But you’ve talked about “decoupling” the profits of the coal plant from the generation of the energy. You said you were against the new coal plant in Surry County. Is there a problem with taking the money and then turning around and telling those same people that you will be fighting them?

AH: Well, I’m happy to have the support of Bob Blue [Robert Blue, a Dominion Power Vice President]who I’ve known for a long time. We worked together in Governor [Mark] Warner’s administration. I’m happy to have his support, and I’ve said, as I think all the candidates have said, that I’m not going to take Dominion Power’s PAC money in the primary. I’ve been consistent with that…

Furthermore, I’ve got a long, long record of work in the environmental area. I’ll put that record up against anybody’s. I got into politics through environmental activism.

When I was a student at James Madison University, I got involved with a campus environmental organization, was one of the leaders in that. I actually got JMU’s first comprehensive recycling program, solid-waste management program including setting-up a sorting facility, me and somebody else. Worked on that. Marched on Washington to stop the Disney theme park…

When I worked for [Rep.] Rick Boucher [Va., D-9th] I worked on wilderness protection areas for Virginia. I’ve worked for an environmental non-profit, in Charlottesville when I was a graduate student down there. I was working on green chemicals and helping to find formulations for manufacturers that are less environmentally harmful…

BHT: So what do you do, then, with something like the Surry County coal plant? What do you say to them?

AH: I think this is where the notion of decoupling comes into play, and I think that the first place that we ought to be looking for, quote unquote, new capacity within the system is through conservation….It’s the cheapest source of energy that we have available to us.

BHT: Using less.

AH: Yeah, using less. You know, you look at some of the studies that are available and conservation is the low-hanging fruit in this energy debate. So I think that’s where we ought to be putting our first priority, our first focus. That’s the challenge for utility companies is they make more money the more power they sell, so the notion of decoupling is trying to fundamentally change that relationship so that they are able to recoup investments [even while people conserve]…

BHT: So you see that as something that can go forward with the Surry County plant? More than trying to shut down the plant or change the plans for construction in some way, you’re looking to make it as environmentally friendly as we could?

AH: No, no. That’s why I’m opposed to the Surry County facility. I think we need to be looking at conservation first. Before we’re adding additional generation capacity, we need to be saying, have we squeezed all the efficiencies out of the system that we can?…

The first priority being conservation. The second priority being alternative energy sources. Are there other ways to get this energy through wind and solar and that sort of thing. I think Virginia has lagged behind considerably in helping to advance those sorts of investments…

BHT: Did I forget to ask anything? Was there anything you were aching to tell me?

AH: …[I was] talking to a guy who started a green roof company four years ago, and he lives right off the Custis Trail over in Dominion Hills…so this guy started this company, and you know he’s been chugging along, and he said, the state really needs to get with it. He said he’s actually moving his company out of Virginia over to Maryland, to Jessup Maryland, because Maryland set up a green building center out there. They’re offering classes. They’ve now got space, so he signed a lease to move his operations out there, so now we’ve got half-a-dozen or more jobs in a growing segment of the economy that’s going to go to Maryland.

It’s like, how come Virginia isn’t providing those sorts of opportunities for folks here?…So, that’s an area where we can and should be doing more.

Click here to return to the main interview site. --ST

Barrett Bus Drivers Heading to Richmond "Rodeo"

2009-05-31T06:22:00.003-05:00

This from the APS "News Tips Kudos" site:

K.W. Barrett Elementary School bus driver and bus assistant Rosa Smith and Temir Belchek placed first in the APS school bus rodeo in mid-April. Smith and Belchek will compete at the state competition in Richmond in June.

I'll admit to not even knowning of the rodeo--it's a national event. Idaho, for instance, had to cancel their state tourney this year, so winners of the the local events have the shot directly at the national title. --ST:

Here's this year's story from Roanoke, Va.: Roanoke County School bus drivers compete in Regional School Bus Rodeo

Here are photos from Tennesee: Sumner County school bus rodeo. I'm not sure which year this is, though.

The Memorial Day Pride of "Four American Veterans"

2009-05-29T10:52:00.009-05:00

"What I'm most proud of," said the tatooed man on the left, is that I'm an American." He paused and then said, "We are the American race, by ideal, not by blood."

His friend who he'd met an hour before (in the center of the photo) said, "We, as Americans, those who are veterans, know what war is."

He brought up a theme that the rest of the men shared, of a country too interested in things, kids too interested in new cars and stereos and not interested in history and the lives lost: people not interested in the sacrifices others made so the rest of us could have those luxuries.

Veterans keep the country safe, "So you can do what you want to do," he said.

These four veterans (one isn't pictured) shot the breeze on the grounds of the Arlington Assembly of God church, last Sunday, and they let me listen in. It was an emotional conversation with some tears, and words caught in throats, but also a lot of laughs, that circled around a few ideas including the heroic nature of the men who died, and the need to remember. They believe that America makes mistakes, but its overall history is in the right direction.

They were in town, of course, having made the annual “Run for the Wall” motorcycle trip from California and Florida, for the Rolling Thunder rally and remembrance on the National Mall.

“It’s a trip to bring attention to those who are missing,” said the man in the middle. “The accountability is not there.”

Untrusting of the press, and annoyed by how the ride and stories about veterans are treated, they did not give their names. With a friend, who isn't pictured above, they wanted only to be called "Four American Veterans."

When the man on the right said he never actually served, the rest insisted he was a veteran since he lived through the Viet Nam war, and since he spent a good deal of time thinking about, and worrying about, his brother, the man in the middle of the photo.

“I didn’t serve, and I wanted to give something back,” said the man on the right. And he wondered aloud why people in the area are so bothered by the motorcycles.

They told stories of riding through towns where the mayors came to meet them, where the riders were given keys to the city, where people cheered the route.

The man on the left said, “Ask them [people in this area] about the motorcycles, and then ask them, ‘Do you like living free?’”

Church to Hold Annual Strawberry Fest.

2009-05-29T10:15:00.005-05:00

Save the date -- Bethel’s Annual Strawberry Festival is Saturday, June 6, from 3 to 7p.m. this year.

Please plan to attend ~ and bring your neighbors and friends ~ to enjoy hot dogs with all the fixings, cool side salads, soda and our traditional “Bethel Strawberry Special.” We’ll also have plenty of other home-made desserts for sale at our Bake Sale Table, and lots of games available to entertain the kid in all of us.

A portion of the proceeds from the festival will be donated to the American Red Cross (Arlington Branch).

Bethel Church is located at 4347 Arlington Blvd. (Northeast corner of Arlington Blvd. and George Mason Dr). Free parking is available in the Red Cross parking lot next door (access to lot off Trenton or Arlington Blvd). Church driveways are reserved for those with special needs. Bethel Church is handicapped accessible.

For more information about the event, please call Bethel’s main office at (703) 528-0937.

Police Notes May 22 to 28

2009-05-29T09:02:00.009-05:00

Man sought for “enticement” of 5-year-old boy at Ballston Commons Mall…

Police are investigating an “enticement” of a five year old at the Ballston Commons Mall (read the press release here).

“It’s being investigated as an enticement” (as opposed to ¬a kidnapping) said Det. Crystal Nosal, the public relations spokesperson for the Arlington County Police Department. “It’s tough to know, when you’re dealing with a five year old, what the intent was.”

Kidnapping is when the attacker forcibly takes a person; enticement is when, as here, the attacker lures a child away. She did not know off-hand what the difference in charge would be between “kidnapping” and “enticement.”

They have not found the man, Det. Nosal said, and they have not had any other incidents.

“It doesn’t appear to be a pattern,” she said. They are checking surveillance tapes and talking to potential witnesses, the detective said.

Last week they closed for motorcycles, this week it’s bicycles in Clarendon and Crystal City…

Clarendon Cup Invitational: The Arlington County Police Department will close several streets in Clarendon on Saturday, May 30 for the 2009 CSC Invitational bicycle race. The street closings in Clarendon are listed here and can be found on the map, below:

Wilson Blvd., from 10th St. to N. Edgewood St.

Clarendon Blvd., from Washington Blvd. to N. Edgewood St.

Washington Blvd., from 13th St. to N. Highland St.

N. Highland St., from Wilson Blvd. to Washington Blvd.

N. Garfield St. and N. Filmore St., from Wilson Blvd. to Washington Blvd.

U.S. Air Force Cycling Classic in Crystal City: The Arlington County Police Department will close several streets in the Crystal City area on Sunday, May 31, for the United States Air Force Cycling Classic. Click here to find the closed streets. (None of the streets are in or adjacent to the HeraldTrib area.)

Police Are Looking for a Few Good Volunteers…

Arlington County Police are seeking volunteers interested in becoming sworn Auxiliary Police Officers to help satisfy this mission while giving back to their community. The support of volunteers has become a critical component of the Arlington County Police Department’s mission to improve the quality of life for every county resident.

Arlington County has maintained a strong Auxiliary Police Officer (APO) program since 1942 to supplement full-time officers during times of need and by providing routine operational support. APOs are trained for a variety of duties that may include uniformed patrol, traffic direction, crowd control and special events. Auxiliary Officers undergo a significant amount of training similar to full-time officers to help prepare them for the duties they are assigned. The police department provides uniforms, body armor, equipment and on-duty insurance. APOs must perform 180 hours per year to maintain their status within the department.

Arlington County plans to hold its next Auxiliary Police training session in the fall of 2009 which takes place during evening hours and weekends over a period of several months. To be considered, applicants must live in Northern Virginia, be at least 21 years of age with at least 60 college credit hours, have a good driving record, be in good health, and have no history of drug use or criminal activity. Selection of candidates is based on overall assessment of the individual’s qualification, background, interpersonal skills, and availability to support the department during periods of greatest need.

To apply or learn more about this extraordinary opportunity to serve your community, please contact Auxiliary Lieutenant Heather Hurlock at 703-228-4057 or by visiting the county web site at https://www.arlingtonva.us.

Crime Report…

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. The crime reports since May 21 have not been added to the Arlington County Police Department web site, so there are no hot links with these reports.--ST

May 26: Robbery, 3800 block of N. 5th St. At 1:30p.m., a woman was walking when an unknown male approached her from behind. The suspect pushed her to the ground and stole her purse. The suspect is described as an African-American male between 30 to 40 years of age, 5 feet and 150 pounds. He was dressed in all black clothing.

May 25: Indecent Exposure (Arrest), 3800 block of N. 7th St. At 1p.m., a man knocked on a window to attract the attention of people walking by and exposed himself to them. Brady Humphry, 20, of Arlington, was charged with Indecent Exposure and released on a summons.

May 23: Possible Enticement, 4200 block of Wilson Blvd. At 11:50a.m., a woman was shopping at the Ballston Common Mall. Her five-year-old son was approached by an unknown African-American male. The man asked her son to walk away with him, and offered him ice cream. When the child declined, the suspect left the area. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches with a medium build. The suspect had short hair and was wearing a bright yellow shirt and long black shorts.

Police Investigate Possible Enticement of 5-year-old

2009-05-28T12:51:00.005-05:00

Arlington County Police Department's Special Victim's Unit is investigating an enticement of a juvenile that occurred last week at the Ballston Commons Mall

From a press release:

On Saturday, May 23, at 11:50a.m., a woman was shopping at the Ballston Common Mall in the 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard. Her five-year-old son was approached by an unknown African-American male.

The man asked her son to walk away with him, and offered him ice cream. When the child declined, the suspect left the area. The suspect is described as an African-American male in his 20s, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches with a medium build. The suspect had short hair and was wearing a bright yellow shirt and long black shorts.

This is being investigated as an isolated incident. The police department has not received any other reports of this nature, but parents should remain aware of their children's surroundings when in public.

Anyone with any information that may be relevant to this investigation is asked to call the Arlington County Police Department Tip Line at 703-228-4242, or Det. Dan Borrelli at 703-228-4052. Det. Borrelli can also be reached by email at Dborre@arlingtonva.us.

Letter: Better Markings Should Be "Normal Practice"

2009-05-24T07:06:00.004-05:00

Dear Steve,

Concerning your article on the work being done on the corner of N. Henderson Road and North Thomas St. [See Roadwork Begins on Henderson and Thomas, May 11, 2009. --ST.]

It is of course long over-due, particularly when you are going northwest on Thomas crossing Henderson from the southeast corner. I have long felt that between the signage and the poles Henderson Road traffic was dangerously blocked from seeing pedestrians.

However in the initial stages of the construction the affirmation "The work will make a dangerous intersection a little more pedestrian friendly” was perhaps misplaced.

I am visually impaired and was rushing for a county birding trip leaving Lubber Run at 7.00a.m. on May 12, not having known about the project. When I rushed across Henderson on the west side of Thomas, I found a ditch, almost falling in to it. I was close to the corner, but there were no construction barriers, (ribbons or plastic barrels) warning me of the situation. I went down the North side of Henderson a little way, and decided to go to the other side, jumping over the ditch that had been dug along Henderson and crossing to the other side before going on my way.

It was nice to see, when I next visited the general area this past Tuesday, that they had placed barriers on the southwest corner where they had dug a new ditch.
Hopefully the later case represents the normal practice.

Louis Quay
Buckingham

Letter: Apt. Buildings Not Hospitable to Candidates

2009-05-24T06:59:00.002-05:00

Hi Steve,

Interesting reading about issues campaigning in apartment buildings. [See HeraldTrib Today May 22, 2009 --ST] In the 1990s, I was precinct captain in Rosslyn and Wilson. At the time there used to be a lot more garden apartments, and I would enter (if I could) and drop literature for candidates.

Problem was, virtually every building had a sign banning soliciting or a locked front door. Often I did it anyway if I could get in. In the larger, often fancier buildings, however, delivering lit or going door to door would get you thrown out -- fast. If there was a doorman, forget it.

ACDC has struggled for years to develop a high-rise initiative (using the mail and folks who live in the buildings) and it has paid off, but the fact is apartment buildings aren't hospitable to candidates. And that's quite likely why candidates avoid them, even though you could quickly meet more people faster than going door to door in a single family neighborhood.

Best,
Jason Rylander
The writer is the Press and Public Relations Chair for the Arlington County Democratic Committee --ST

HeraldTrib Today, May 22, 2009

2009-05-22T11:41:00.009-05:00

How to reach voters in apartments…

One distinct difference between owning a single-family home and a garden-style townhouse, I’ve found, is the number of times people knock on my door politicking for something.

I lost count of the number of times someone tried to get me to vote for Obama. And three of the five candidates for the House of Delegates race for the 47th have made their appearance, though I was only home for one of them (Alan Howze). Andres Tobar has not made it, as far as I know, and Adam Parkhomenko told me after the ACDC debate that he skipped my house because he knew I was Patrick Hope’s friend, and he did not want to take time talking with someone he was sure wouldn’t vote for him anyway.

When I lived in the Arlington Oaks townhouse, Josh Ruebner the Green Party candidate running for County Board at the time, was the only candidate in 10 years to show up at my door, as far as I recall. I wasn't home, so he left a flier.

All that got me thinking a month ago, so I started sending out emails to people I know living in apartments, and those people have had largely the same experience that I had—no one came calling.

In a recent interview, Miles Grant, who is one of the five running for the House of Delegates' 47th seat, said that he did not get any serious contact from Obamites in the run-up to last year’s primary though, as a member of Arlington Young Democrats, he was a likely primary voter!

Miles lives in Historic Ballston Park (near the Eastern Carry-Out), and swung by my house about a month ago.

Alexandra Morrow, of Arlington Oaks, wrote me an email about a month ago:

“I have not had anyone and personally am thankful I have not. After a long day, I really don't want to contend with people buzzing and trying to gain access to the units. They may avoid us because you do have to gain access not only to the units but then to the doors, and no one wants to be that one person who let's them in!

“I never had anyone knock on my door for the presidential election either, nor did I see anyone around the neighborhood. My guess is they know their time is better spent on communities where they don't have to work as hard just to get to the front door.”

It’s interesting to me, given that it shows off two of the concerns the candidates expressed to me: they don’t want to appear pushy or as though they are somehow invading privacy, and they don’t want to spend time just trying to get through the main door only to find hostile people at the apartment door.

People at the Buckingham Outreach Center, on the Gates of Ballston property, said they had not heard of candidates canvassing there. Writer, HeraldTrib columnist, and Chatham resident Vic Socotra said no one had knocked on his door, ever.

The only person in a complex who said they did get activity was Tom Lauria, in Hyde Park Condominium. They are a rather politically active bunch (I went to a meeting with Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple there a couple years back). The way the meetings were described, however, was that someone invited the candidate in to the community room, and people came from apartments to meet that person.

That fits more with what the candidates say they do. They tell me they find friends in the different places and ask those friends to set-up meet-and-greets of different sorts, breakfasts, happy hours, and such.

For instance, Pat Hope had a “Latinos for Hope” rally at the Buckingham Community Center.

Miles Grant said he gives fliers to supporters in apartment complexes and asks that they distribute them to a list of likely voters who also live at that place. He said he has a volunteer who coordinates that activity.

If that doesn’t work, he joked, “What we’re doing is renting fire engines with ladders that will go up to about the 10th floor and [we’re] just sticking our fliers to the outside of people’s windows.”

The group experience has a different feel than that of someone knocking on your door.

When Alan Howze stopped by, I told him that I write this blog and that I’m a friend of Pat Hope’s and have every intention of voting for him. Alan looked at me with a kind of curious smile and said, “Let’s get coffee.” It was a face that said, “I can change your mind.” I was happy for the opportunity.

He and I have had coffee; in fact, coffee with him made me think of asking the other candidates the same. I have met with four of the five candidates (Adam Parkhomenko’s campaign said they didn’t have time in his schedule). Transcripts of those taped interviews will be out next week.

While we’re on politics…

Nick Benton, the Editor/Publisher of the Falls Church News Press, gave $200 to Adam Parkhomenko’s campaign at some point during the first three months of this year. Just letting you know.
Along those lines, Pat Hope asked me if I’d put a lawn sign in my yard, and, citing my role here at the HeraldTrib, I said no. Pat asked if Cathy, my wife, would be willing to do it, and I said he would have to ask here.

We have a lawn sign.

I’m a journalist, but I don’t see why my wife must give up her right to free speech. (I know this will rub some of you the wrong way, but at least I’m up front about these matters.)

Don't stereotype tent caterpillars...

The naturalist and TV persona, David Mizejewski, (featured in a story, below) told me that the eastern tent caterpillar is not invasive, nor is it harmful to the environment and backyard (it leaves behind a few holey leaves).

These are the good ones.(Click to enlarge the image.)

What I didn’t write was that he and I (we’re about the same age) remember the late 1970s in the northeast when the gypsy moths came in and defoliated entire forests. Since the gypsy moth is also a tent-builder, many people (I’ll include myself here) believe all tent caterpillars are bad.

They’re not, and you can fairly easily tell them apart. Gypsy moth caterpillars have a series of blue and red spots along their bodies, whereas the eastern tent caterpillars have a golden squiggle, with blue stripes.

Here’s a couple images to help:

Gypsy moth caterpillar

Eastern tent caterpillar

I missed the BCCA meeting last week...

I was sick. It has been some combination of head cold and allergies that has been laying me low for about two weeks. (That is part of why the Police Notes, below, are so delayed.)

Anyway, if someone was at the meeting and can give a nice emailed round-up, I'd sure appreciate it. I know American Service Center detailed their redevelopment plans, and apparently someone else was coming, but I do not have details, though I'd love them!

Have a good holiday weekend...

And remember that Rolling Thunder will be rolling and thundering down Arlington Blvd this weekend, with campers no doubt already filling the Assembly of God field. Look for pictures next week. (The police traffic alert is here.)

Bill Francis at the Arlington Assembly of God, last year.

Today's Headlines:

Man held (but not charged) in incident with Swanson students (Police Notes May 5 - 21)

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

County and Telesis Prep for June Meeting. (Buckingham Village 3 update.)

ASC Switches to Water-based Paint (but a neighbor is not sure that will pass the smell test.)

From Animal Planet to Lubber Run (TV personality checks out the neighborhood's "backyard.")

Whipple and Brink Endorse Patrick Hope

Road Work Started on Thomas/Henderson Intersection

Police Notes May 5 - 21

2009-05-22T09:36:00.008-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. Sorry it covers so much time; I fell behind during finals week. --ST

Man held, but not charged…

The man who accosted several Swanson Middle School students at a bus stop in Buckingham yesterday afternoon has been held under a mental detention order, but has not been charged with a crime.

He is known to police and has a history of mental disorder, said Arlington County Police Detective Crystal Nosal, the public information officer for ACPD. The incident occurred on the 4100 block of N. 3rd St., according to an email sent from Arlington Public Schools.

Police do not believe that the person was attempting abduction, as was first feared, but he may have tugged on the shirt of a boy, which is “scary for a 14-year-old,” Det. Nosal said.

He might be charged with assault and battery for the shirt-tugging, but police are waiting for a health evaluation before proceeding, the detective said. They are not releasing his name at this time since he has not been arrested and because police do not want to run afoul of the Health Information Privacy Act.

The email from the school thanked police for quick action and commended the students for following some basic safety tips such as walking in groups and telling adults quickly so that appropriate action could be taken.

Crime reports…

May 4: Robbery, 4200 block of Wilson Blvd. At 4:45p.m., a man was walking when two unknown men approached him from behind. The suspect pushed the victim into a wall and demanded money. They then ran from the area. Both suspects were tall, muscular, African American males in their late teens. They were wearing sweatshirts with scarves covering their faces.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Robbery, 4300 block of N. Henderson Road. At 11p.m., a man was standing in front of a building talking on a cell phone. Two unknown men approached him, assaulted him and took his cell phone. The suspects were both African-American men in their early 20s. They were wearing dark clothing.

May 1 (delayed reporting to police): Attempted Robbery, 4300 block of N. 4th St. At 8:30p.m., a man was leaving a laundry room and two unknown men attempted to rob him. The suspects were unsuccessful and fled the area. Both suspects were African-American males in their 20s wearing dark clothing. The victim did not report the incident for six days.

May 9: Destruction of Property, Drunk in Public (Arrest), 900 block of N. Kenmore St. At midnight, a person witnessed a man damaging windshield wipers on several vehicles. Police apprehended the suspect. Kevin Chan was charged with Drunk in Public and held until sober.

May 10: Assault and Battery, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At 9:45p.m., a man entered a store and assaulted an employee. He attempted to get the employee to leave the store to fight with him in the parking lot and left. The employee called the police. The suspect is a bald African-American male in his 40s, 6 feet tall with a heavy build. He was wearing dark jeans and a checkered patterned long sleeve shirt.

May 19: Filing a False Police Report (Arrest), 3800 block of N. 7th St. At 4:30p.m., a woman reported that her ex-boyfriend abducted and assaulted her. During the investigation officers found the event was fabricated. Leyla S. Kampman, 19, of Arlington, was charged with Filing a False Police Report. She was held on a $1,000 bond.

Click the icons for more information. Red=Person-to-person crime; Yellow=person-to-structure/vehicle crime; Blue=stolen vehicle; Purple=vehicle-to-vehicle crime; Aqua=miscellaneous. A dot in the icon indicates more than one suspect or victim. Click here to view larger map.

County And Telesis Prep for June Meeting

2009-05-20T11:20:00.007-05:00

This story was adjusted from its post yesterday to include "The Finances," a breakdown of the money spent on this project (see it near the bottom of the story). --ST

The Arlington County Board met with senior staff and members of Telesis Corporation yesterday primarily to discuss whether to make Buckingham Village 3 all-rental or rental with some ownership. If there is ownership, the consensus, with some balking, was that it should be a condominium, not a co-operative. This is the last meeting of these groups before the board votes on the issue at their June meeting.

Telesis, with an impressive packet of information, recommended condominium ownership of 48 of the 140 units in 16 buildings, with the other 92 units renting at different levels of affordability.

The cost to the county for this is $14.5 million—or almost $17 million if buyers use the county’s Moderate Income Purchase Assistance Program. That’s about $103,000 to $120,000 per unit, according to the documents.

Under this plan, all the units would be fully renovated.

The county board, however, was not sure that the mix of 92/48 was the best and questioned Telesis about that ratio. Perhaps the best ratio would be rental on all 140 units.

Bert Mason, a principal at Telesis, ran through the numbers, explaining that full rental would mean the project would lose some tax incentives.

And the question of co-op versus condo was the point of largest contention, though “contention” might be too strong.

Board member Chris Zimmerman is a proponent of co-ops because the lower purchase costs generally associated with co-ops would make the units more affordable. Plus, the Latino community most likely to take advantage of the purchases are more familiar with the more communal co-op structure rather than the condo.

“I do think it’s a tool we should have in the box,” he said after the meeting, but he admitted that the financial structure in this country gives the advantage to condos.

“A co-op would be more helpful to us in achieving the goals we set in the first place,” Mr. Zimmerman said during the meeting. Those goals include keeping the entire Village 3 affordable, and allowing as many people who already live in Buckingham to stay in Buckingham.

County board Chair Barbara Favola said, however, that a condo, which would appreciate more than a co-op, would potentially allow more families to move up the economic ladder.

Mr. Mason estimated an additional $3 million would be needed from the county if the project went co-op. As well, the financing for a co-op is a couple percentage points higher than that of a condo, he said.

Board member Walter Tejada reiterated the need to keep the community together and wondered how likely it was that people would buy.

Mr. Mason said a “substantial number” in Buckingham wanted to buy. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble selling these units,” he said.

In the end, the board seemed satisfied with the rental/ownership ratio and that the condo was the best option, but they asked that Telesis provide a more clear comparison of the differences for their June meeting.

Ultimately, Mr. Tejada expressed what seemed to be the feeling at the table. “Let us not get that point lost,” he said, that a large number of affordable housing units are being saved by this measure.

That the board was helping to save a housing complex built in the depression during the worst economic downturn since that time was significant, said Mr. Zimmerman after the meeting. “On so many levels, this is exciting.”

Village 3, a six acre site, sits on N. Pershing Drive between N. Thomas St. and N. George Mason Drive. This is part of project that started in 2006 when the county entered a memorandum of understanding with Paradigm Development Corp and its partners, the former owners of the property. In that agreement, Village 3 fell under the protection of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmarks Review Board; its redevelopment and that of Village 1, across N. George Mason from Village 3, has fallen under a great deal of county scrutiny.

ASC's "Environmentally-Sound" Choice Has Not Convinced B'ham Neighbor

2009-05-19T15:11:00.009-05:00

American Service Center is the first body shop in Arlington to make the switch to waterborne paints, a switch that may be mandatory in the future.

The heat was pushing 100 degrees, and the weather was dry July 9, 2007. Buckingham felt just a bit like an oven. As well, the corner of N. Glebe and N. Carlin Springs roads smelled of chemical solvents at about quitting time that Monday.

One person in the neighborhood told the county that the American Service Center Body Shop where workers painted up to 250 cars a month on N. Glebe Road, was illegally dumping noxious fumes into the air.

An employee stands next to the open doors of the American Service Center Body Shop on a smelly day in September, 2007. (Click to enlarge the image.)

The double-wide, glass doors on the Glebe Road side of the building on that day were wide open, and two, newly painted, black Mercedes sat just inside. The sidewalk in front of those doors was dusted with paint from the shop floor. The stench was incredible.

“I don’t deal with air quality,” said Richard Freeman at that time. He is a county code enforcer. He said air quality is much more a job for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, which said some of those issues were the concern of the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

In the late summer of 2007, Mr. Freeman said he was only concerned with overspray on the property, and he had seen the booths that the painters used and the certificates from the state saying that they were in compliance. He said he had gone by a few times to smell and hadn’t noticed anything that bad. As well, the fire marshall conducts an annual audit of the location and has found nothing wrong.

In 2006, the EPA checked out the site and found nothing wrong. In a recent interview, Body Shop Manager Jim Bergin denied having illegally dumped fumes.

At the time, you could not have told that to Mick Pulliam, the resident of The Carlin, an apartment high rise at 4300 N. Carlin Springs, who was trying to get the county to investigate. He said the stench in his building’s backyard, which sits adjacent to ASC’s backyard, was overwhelming.

“Nothing can be done unless the inspector actually sees the infraction,” Mr. Pulliam wrote in an email in 2007. “It seems that the paint trail coming from inside the building, and going almost out to the road, is not proof of where the paint is coming from.”

Code inspectors checked the paint on the sidewalks and determined it was allowable, as it was not overspray, but dust from the sanding room floor that the tires tracked outside with them.

The good news for Mr. Pulliam is that these arguments may be moot.

Last November, ASC switched their paints from solventborne to waterborne, and they have finished a renovation of the building at 640 N. Glebe that includes air conditioning, so the door should not need to be opened. They are first in Arlington to make the switch to waterborne paints.

"American Service Center has made an environmentally-sound decision to convert its shop from a solventborne system," the company wrote in a press release last April.

(The person who could speak to these issues at Specialty Auto Body, the other paint shop on nearby N. Quincy Street, was out of the office until next week, the manager said.)

Carlos Gomez applies paint using the new waterborne paints. The air in the paintbooths is filtered, and the filters are changed monthly, said Mr. Bergin, the body shop manager. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“Waterborne paint is almost odorless,” said Matthew Shaffer, the BASF paint sales representative at ASC.

Paints are roughly 80 percent liquid. That liquid makes it possible for the paint to be sprayed onto a surface. The liquid dries off and the pigment remains. Waterborne paints shift the liquid from a chemical solvent—such as xylene, toluene or methyl ethyl ketone—to water, and therefore the smell from the evaporating liquid changes from chemical to virtually nothing. As well, the air in the paint booth goes through "two or three filtering systems" before being released to the atmosphere, Mr. Bergin said. "It emits less...contaminants."

ASC Body Shop Manager Jim Bergin. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“This one was painted 45 minutes ago,” Mr. Bergin said. He stood in the finishing area of the paint shop where the cars get buffed after painting. If it were going to smell, it would smell the worst right where he was standing he said.

“Eventually, [the use of waterborne paints] is going to be mandated,” he had said earlier.

That’s what happened last year in Canada. California has already made the shift.

It’s more than a quality-of-life issue for people living around a body shop. The solvents are Volatile Organic Compounds, which, when loosed into the air and bombarded by sunlight, can create ozone and other pollutants. According to the EPA, one category of the solvents, diisocyanates, is the number one cause of workplace asthma.

In January 2008, the EPA issued rules that required many industries, including auto paint shops, to lower their VOC emissions, but they did not require a switch to waterborne paints.

Mick Pulliam is not so sure about any of this.

“We shall see if there is an improvement. However, I am not sure that the type of paint is going to change much. The idea of having paint fumes in my lungs does not make me happy. (No matter what kind of paint they use.),” he wrote in a recent email.

From Animal Planet to Lubber Run

2009-05-15T12:04:00.011-05:00

Turns out the host of the old Animal Planet show “Backyard Habitat,” who appears regularly on national TV, is a resident of the Columbia Forest neighborhood in south Arlington. The author of “Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife,” checked out Buckingham’s backyard, Lubber Run Park, on Wednesday. Although a resident of Arlington for about a decade, it was his first time in this park, and he was pleased with what he saw.

David Mizejewski in Lubber Run Park, Wednesday. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“Urban natural areas have a different sort of stressors on them,” David Mizejewski said. The impermeable roofs, roads, driveways and parking lots in the area send a lot of water into storm drains which empty into streams like Lubber Run. But overall the streams in Arlington are OK, he said.

“We do have such a great, green infrastructure in Arlington,” he said.

The county supports a program to protect Lubber Run from invasive plant species. The county has three nature centers inside its borders, staffed by professional naturalists. It says a lot about the county government and the citizens who support these, he said.

“You just don’t see that in a lot of other places,” he said. (Gulf Branch Nature Center was saved in the county largely through citizen activism when the county budget was approved just weeks ago.)

Strolling in jeans and flip-flops, he stopped near the rest room building and looked to the hillside that rises behind it. He noticed how much undergrowth the park has, and attributed part of that to the few deer in the county. He said that hillside was the perfect habitat for the mountain laurel that grows there. With the old growth trees, mountain laurel and the oak seedlings sprouting through the dark, leaf-strewn soil, he said,

“We could be in the Shenandoah.”

The mountain laurel on the hillside is one sign of a rather healthy park. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Lubber Run might not have the invertebrate life—snails and crayfish—of a truly healthy stream, but it does support dace, those minnow-like fish, in the deeper pools of the stream. The streambed is gravelly, rather than silty, which allows plants to grow and fish to spawn.

A pair of mallards was eating and resting in the stream. Near his house, he said, on Four-Mile Run, he has seen kingfishers and great blue herons which means they must be finding something to eat.

“On the whole, these urban ecosystems are in pretty good shape,” he said.

His show which ran a couple seasons, (and can be purchased on DVD) was a “Trading Spaces” sort of show for the backyard. It focused on making-over backyards to attract wildlife. Landowners, however, must recognize the limits to this: they have to plant native plants to attract native animals and insects.

These eastern tent caterpillars are not invasive, but are good for the ecosystem. (Click to enlarge the image.)

“You need bugs for birds,” he said.

Take the eastern tent caterpillar. It is not invasive, nor is it bad for area trees. It feeds off plants in the rose family, which include a number of fruit trees, such as the black cherry Mr. Mizejewski found in the park, a nice web of caterpillars stuck to the “Y” of a branch.

They might look ugly and leave a few holey leaves in their wakes, but they might also attact the yellow-billed cuckoo. Those birds like the fuzzy bugs.

An employee of the National Wildlife Federation in Reston, he is promoting their new “Be Out There” program which encourages families to spend more time in nature in order to grow healthier and appreciate nature more. He also has a new blog on the Animal Planet site called “Animal Oddities.”

Mr. Mizejewski is not against bringing home wildlife from t he park; his old show often made habitats for critters like pollywogs. But practice “catch-and-release” he said, returning the animals to the place where they were found, and do not keep animals captive too long.

“Parks are hugely valuable,” Mr. Mizejewski said. “They are the community’s backyard.” Parents can teach their children to be respectful of the parks. “It’s for everybody, including the wild animals, including the streams.”

Related sites…

NWF's "Be Out There" program.

Animal Planet's "Animal Oddities" blog.

Animal Planet's Backyard Habitat

Whipple and Brink Endorse Hope

2009-05-15T11:22:00.003-05:00

Patrick Hope's campaign for the House of Delegates released this statement earlier today. --ST

On June 9, Democrats in the 47th District will choose a candidate to succeed our friend and colleague Al Eisenberg. It’s a testament to the vitality of the Arlington Democratic Party that five Arlingtonians with a wide range of qualifications have stepped forward to seek the nomination. Miles Grant is an articulate and forceful advocate for the environment. Alan Howze has a deep understanding of how policy is formulated in Richmond. Adam Parkhomenko is youthful and enthusiastic. Andres Tobar’s longstanding efforts to promote an inclusive and progressive community have made Arlington a better place.

We are supporting Patrick Hope because he offers a unique combination of personal, professional and community experience that will make him an effective member of the House of Delegates from Day 1. Patrick has shown leadership, compassion, and commitment on behalf of Arlington’s most vulnerable citizens. He is a consensus builder and a creative problem solver. His civic activism is in the finest tradition of “The Arlington Way.”

For many years, Arlington’s delegation to the General Assembly has worked as a team to advance our community’s interests in Richmond and to promote Arlington values. We are confident that Patrick Hope will contribute significantly to our delegation’s effectiveness, and we urge the 47th District’s Democrats to vote for Patrick on Tuesday, June 9.

Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31, Arlington/Falls Church)

Del. Bob Brink (D-48, north Arlington)

Full disclosure: I have known Pat for years and consider him a friend. --ST

BCCA Meeting Monday May 18

2009-05-14T10:05:00.003-05:00

Buckingham Community Civic Association Members - The BCCA will be holding its regular meeting on Monday, May 18, 7:00p.m.

We'll be meeting at our usual meeting place at the Arlington Oaks Community Center located at 4490 N. Pershing Drive.

We've confirmed the developer for American Service Center to discuss their project under review located on the east side of N. Glebe Road. We'll also provide updates of various projects around the neighborhood.

Next week's meeting will also include an update from Rolda Nedd, one of Arlington County's planners, to discuss future community needs. We're asking Buckingham residents to take this opportunity to weigh-in on community needs through this survey (click here).

I hope to see you at next week's meeting.

Thanks,

Patrick Hope
President, BCCA

Road Work Begins on Henderson and Thomas Intersection

2009-05-11T08:58:00.006-05:00

A backhoe works on the sidewalks at the intersection. The sidewalks "bump" into the streets, to slow turning drivers and shorten walking distances for pedestrians. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Construction crews began work renovating the N. Henderson Road at N. Thomas Street intersection, Friday.

The work will make a dangerous intersection a little more pedestrian friendly. The changes will “bump” the sidewalks a little into the travel lanes, slowing drivers as they turn, while shortening the distance pedestrians will have to travel to cross the streets. "Zebra stiping" of the crosswalks for greater visibility over N. Henderson is part of the plan.

The project will also improve drainage and lighting at the intersection. As well, the sidewalk in front of the Hyde Park Condominium’s pool, just east of the intersection, will get curb cuts for better wheelchair, scooter and bicycle accessibility.

According to Patrick Hope, Buckingham Community Civic Association president, the work should be completed in about two weeks. This was the first project in Buckingham to be completed under the Neighborhood Conservation Project process.

The plans include four new streetlights, but one will be installed only when Paradigm Development builds the townhouses planned for the southwest corner of the intersection. N. Thomas Street runs vertically in this image. (Click to enlarge the image.)

Related stories…

Pedestrian Safety and Visibility Is Aim of Henderson/Thomas Renovation

HeraldTrib Today: May 7, 2009

2009-05-08T09:45:00.008-05:00

Glad to see the Sun Gazette report on its parent company...

I had a snarky piece already to go about how tough it was to find the Sun Gazette's coverage of its parent company's troubles on its web site.

(The parent, American Community Newspapers Inc., filed for Chapter 11 protection at the end of last month.)

But I see the coverage is on page 10 of the current print edition. Good. (I don't actually like being snarky it just makes us all defensive, and that's not a good position for journalists to be in.)

Scott McCaffrey, the Sun Gazette editor, has been covering his parent company's troubles, but only on his blog, which no doubt gets far less readership on the main news pages.

Here’s the really interesting part: in one of the blog posts, there’s a link to “read the story here”. It’s an actual news story that has a date stamp of April 29, but I went back to find it on the main site, and not there! So, the story exists, you just have to know to look for it. When you click the story, it says it is archived in "hot news." Was it posted there? Here, and only here, is the Sun Gazette story on line.

I wrote about the story last week. After I covered the story, I sent it to some area newsies who hadn’t heard (though I was nearly a week late in my coverage), and then I sent it along to my realtor (who I talk with or email daily) who said he hadn’t heard anything. He also said he would have liked to have known this as his office does a lot of advertising with the Sun Gazette (no kidding!).

People, in other words, seem interested in this as news, not banter, Scott. You probably should have made sure this story stayed on the main News site, not just on your blog.

By the way, Scott, I liked the first blog entry you posted yesterday with the headline: “That’s why you shouldn’t let amateurs loose in the newsroom." It got my snark way up! I was happy it hadn't been aimed at me. (In fact, you've been very nice to me and my blog lately. I'll admit it makes me nervous.)

And so that this joke isn't only inside baseball, Scott was poking at the Loudoun Times-Mirror which quoted its own staff in a story about the Sun Gazette's parent company filing for Chapter 11 protection. Unfortunately, the Loudoun paper apparently did not mention that the people quoted were their staff--reason enough to poke them.

When I went back to find the post for my own snark-filled reasons, at 9:13a.m., I found the post was was gone! At noon it came back on-line with a different headline and different content. (As Scott would say,“Whoopsie” —we’ve all hit “post” when we don't mean to.)

Today, the blog covers the same story (I think) but gets angry at the misspelling of the Sun Gazette's name.

Container love...

If you read the actual newspaper, drink beer, and feed your kids beans from cans, you know what joy it is to get the big, blue recyclable canisters.

The writer, with a love bordering on the unnatural. (Click to enlarge the image.)

My family and I recycle everything we can—newspapers, envelopes, sheets of paper (including the 80 or more that come home every Friday in the kids’ folders), bottles, cans, plastics. We’re still unpacking, so we have corrugated and flat cardboard. Tissue boxes, toilet paper rolls, milk jugs. Everything. Pull the cardboard tag off a new shirt? Yup, into the recycle bin.

This is something I’ve taken from Arlington Oaks.

I was on the board and active in the community while there, so I know that recycled waste was cheaper to haul away than garbage destined for the landfill. So I did my part to save the condominium a few bucks a year.

When I arrived at the new house about six blocks away (in Arlington Forest, aka “West Buckingham”), I found the yellow recycling bucket on the back porch, lacking.

The old container is "a sorry excuse."

The sorry excuse for a container worthy of saving the environment had broken sides and was, at best, half the size of what we required. Because of its small and lidless design, on Wednesdays (just before garbage day) our back porch looked like a small landfill. I think the squirrels (stupid squirrels!) even took out some of the items hoping to find remaining food.

But now, now we have reached recycling Nirvana! I am at peace and in love!

While we’re on love…

The students that I mention in my essay, below, are back together (didn’t see that coming). I was rather surprised, I’ll admit, that they broke up just in time for me to write the essay!

Adam Parkhomenko wins the Bill Clinton endorsement…

The race for the House of Delegates’ 47th District gets weirder by the minute. The chatter I have heard and read seems to leave people in the dark as to what the endorsement by POTUS-42 means. Turn out on June 9 for the Democratic primary will be the key, I’m guessing. Will an endorsement by the former Commander-in-Chief be enough? We’ll see…

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

Police Notes: April 24 to May 4

Sun Gazette Parent Co. Files Chapter 11.

Essay: Beating Hearts (Lousy headline, I'll admit.)

Letter: New Money Blog in the Neighborhood.

Public Service Announcements

County to Premiere "Arlington's Smarth Growth Journey"

Committee of 100 to Discuss Diversity Implementation

Police Notes April 24 - May 4.

2009-05-07T12:03:00.006-05:00

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

April 23: Attempted Commercial Burglary, 500 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 8p.m. on April 23, and 9a.m. on April 24, an unknown subject attempted to break into a business but was unable to gain entry. There is no suspect description.

April 27: Burglary (Arrest), 4300 block of N. Pershing Drive. At 5:30a.m. a man broke into an apartment through a window. The resident called police and the suspect was located. Ismar Orozco-Bautista, 21, of Arlington was charged with Burglary. He was held without bond.

April 28: Robbery (Arrest), 4100 block of N. Henderson Road. At 4:50p.m., a man reported that a man walked up to him, assaulted him, and then stole the bicycle the victim had been riding. The suspect rode off on the bike. Officers found the suspect fighting with a different subject in the general area. (See the report below. April 28: Assault and Battery 700 block of N. George Mason Drive.) Gerald McFarland, 27, of Arlington, was charged with Robbery and held without bond.

April 28: Assault and Battery (Arrest), 700 block of N. George Mason Drive. At 5:20p.m., a man was walking when a subject ran toward him and assaulted him. The victim ran away and the suspect followed him. Officers checking the area for a robbery suspect stopped the assault in progress. (See the report above. April 28: Robbery (Arrest), 4100 block of N. Henderson Road.) Gerald McFarland, 27, of Arlington, was charged with Assault and Battery and held without bond.

Essay: Beating Hearts

2009-05-06T10:03:00.006-05:00

I have been thinking of a pair of students in one of my classes. They are in their late teens and they are in love. They sit in the back of the class, talking low, or touching, sharing a book. When they might not know I see, she will sneak glances with eyes that ask for a response, and he, well, he might be a little older; maybe he has been through this before, or just keeps his emotions close.

I have been thinking of them since Friday when my dog and I heard what we thought was a bark, an odd bark, and it stopped my dog, almost. Her gait changed, and she slowed, wary, but ears forward, head up, the point position, if she knew what that was. I called her to me, and she came, but she looked as though she might bolt, on a chase, and at the same time like she might bolt away.

We heard it again, but I was talking to my dog, so the sound wasn’t clear. A dog, maybe, a ways off, in a backyard. It might be upset, or it sees something.

Or it could be—and just as I thought this, I heard clearly, a deep, guttural, hooting.

The owl.

I’d seen owl feathers in Lubber Run Park over the past month, and then, last week, I spotted an owl in a tree, down near Arlington Boulevard. I shot a picture of the owl with my cell phone, too far from the tree to get a good shot. But it was fun to watch the owl’s head twist around to see me. I’ve never seen a grown, healthy one in the wild.

Last year my dog spotted an injured barred owl hiding itself behind a rock on the shoreline of Lubber Run creek, and we waited until animal welfare came to take it away. And a month or so after that, we saw the cutest little owl at the base of a tree about a foot from the paved path.

We were out early that morning, the sky still dark, and my dog was yanking me down the hill into the park off N. Columbus Street. I couldn’t see what she was so excited about, neck stretched through the collar, straining, until I was just about on top of the poor little thing. The eyes were so wide, and the pupils so large and its body so small that it looked frightened, more than wise. I never knew if it was an owlet that was too afraid or incapable of flight, or if it was a full-grown, but injured owl. Now I’m guessing it was young.

And here we were, just my dog and me last Friday, walking through the woods, stopped by the unfamiliar sound. The sun was just up on an overcast morning, and the renaissance of underbrush was shadowless in that way that happens when the dull light comes from everywhere. Where we stood, with new leaves on the giant, old-growth trees, I couldn’t see the houses I knew were there.

Despite all the dire environmental news, for a moment, the forest, this little forest in dense-packed Arlington, with its towering oaks and maples, felt primordial and verdant, huge yet intimate, as though I could walk forward and see the owl, as though it were calling to me. But of course, it wasn’t.

A startling moment later, a second owl called from behind us, but closer, maybe a hundred yards away. The first called again and it went like that for a minute or more. Call and response, longing and desire, public yet intimate.

During student conferences yesterday I asked the young woman in my class where her boyfriend was, since he had missed his conference that ran just before hers.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I haven’t talked to him in days.”

“Oh!” I said. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” she said, and her eyes looked like she meant it, as though she wisely understood that this was how it goes sometimes, that the odds of survival in this environment are long.

Through the canopy, I saw, just as I was wondering if I’d be lucky enough to see, the second owl, beating the air with desire—thuketathuketathuketa—its voice disrupted by the strain of beating wings and the fierce pounding of its heart.

Related sites…

For a quick introduction to the barred owl, click here; to hear the barred owl, click here.

Sun Gazette Parent Co. Files Chap. 11

2009-05-04T14:44:00.003-05:00

American Community Newspapers, Inc., announced that it voluntarily entered Chapter 11 reorganization on April 28. The heavily-leveraged, Addison, Texas-based company which owns northern Virginia's Sun Gazette, Middleburg Life and Leesburg Today newspapers among others nationwide, was delisted from public stock exchanges last fall, and recently, the stock was trading for pennies per share privately.

"ACN will continue to operate its businesses, during the reorganization process. There will be no change in the Company's day-to-day operating activity and its newspapers will continue to serve their local communities, readers and advertisers without interruption," ACN said in a statement on April 28.

“A difficult economic environment and weak advertising market have created a number of challenges for our industry and our company,” said the company Chairman, Gene Carr, in the statement.

In separate statements, the company wrote that it would consider selling papers, but closing them is not likely, and that the restructuring should not affect readership or advertising clients.

Within 90 days, the company plans to pull out of the reorganization stronger their statements say.

The Sun Gazette nearby covers the northern Virginia communities of Arlington and northern Fairfax counties.

Leesburg Today's coverage of the story (Leesburg Today is a sister paper to the Sun Gazette).

A little history on the troubles

County to Premiere "Arlington's Smart-Growth Journey"

2009-05-01T10:58:00.007-05:00

The county has produced a full-length documentary about its history in Smart Growth development, and they are holding a public screening of the film (which can also be found on the county's web site) later this month.

"Arlington's Smart Growth Journey"

Central Library Monday, May 11, 7p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.

The 53-minute documentary will be followed by a panel discussion featuring three of the people interviewed in the documentary: Dr. Zachary Schrag, a historian and George Mason University; Hank Hulme, a former Arlington County staffer and Jay Ricks, a former Board member.

Peter Hill, of AVN, and county Spokesperson Mary Curtius were the co-producers of the project which took 18 months. They conducted 25 hours of interviews with some of the key decision-makers who fought to ensure that Arlington got Metro lines, lots of Metro stops, and development along them.

The Washington Post wrote about the movie in last Thursday's Arlington/Alexandria Extra section.

Committee of 100 to Discuss Diversity Implementation

2009-05-01T10:46:00.005-05:00

How Will Arlington Implement the Recommendations of the Diversity Dialogues?

This will the be the topic of the May monthly meeting of the Arlington Committee of 100 (a public affairs/civic education program in the county).

Regular Monthly Dinner Meeting

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Macedonia Baptist Church

3412 S. 22nd Street, Arlington, VA 22204 (at the corners of Shirlington Road, Kenmore and 22nd Street.)

Dinner 7:00p.m.; Program 7:30p.m.

Sixteen recommendations were developed by the Diversity Dialogues. Our May program will help create options for implementing these recommendations. We are pleased that the Committee of 100 will be part of the follow-up for the Arlington County Diversity Dialogues, held in the fall of 2008.

You may have participated in them and wondered “what’s next?” Reverend Leonard Hamlin, senior pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church and Chair of the Diversity Dialogue Task Force, has invited us to his church on May 13th to discuss how to implement the 16 recommendations. Our members will be joined by some of Rev. Hamlin’s congregation, along with other Dialogue attendees, and other interested community members.

For more information, click here.

Bedbugs: Treatment and Information

2009-05-01T10:27:00.002-05:00

The Buckingham neighborhood (and much of the country), is dealing with bedbug infestations, so the county's Housing Services Section is holding a informational session on bedbug characteristics, signs, treatment and prevention

Date: Thursday, May 7

Time: 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m.

Location: Gates of Ballston Community Center, 4108 N. 4th St.

Also featuring: Connor’S Pest Protection and the Lady Bug’s K-9 Team

Sponsored by Arlington County Housing Services Section and Historic Preservation Program.

Letter: A Money Blog in the Neighborhood

2009-05-01T10:20:00.003-05:00

Hi Steve,

I live in Arlington Oaks and I'm a big fan of your blog (I particularly liked your article about Ballston Station, even though I think it's ridiculous they didn't call it Buckingham Station). I just started blogging again after something like a seven-year break, and was wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a look and giving me some feedback? I'd like to trade links as well if you're interested.

The URL for my site is http://www.bewealthygethappy.com

Thanks!

Keith McClellan
Buckingham

For this and other blogs in the area, check out the "local bloggers" link at the right. (It has been updated.) --ST

HeraldTrib Today April 29, 2009

2009-04-29T08:36:00.004-05:00

If I’m gone, I’ll be back…

Stupid Google. I love them because they give me tons of free software that I use daily (blopspot is owned by Google; the maps I use for the police reports are owned by Google; my gmail account is owned by Google; when my son comes of age, he…kidding), and all I have to do for it is ignore the advertisements that appear just about everywhere on their products.

But about a week ago, I got a message that said my blog was flagged as possible spam because of the incredible number of links to other pages on my site (apparently robot computers set up blogs that all link to the same address and that’s what the HeraldTrib looked like to them; I did not know there was such a thing as a spam blog).

They threatened to delete the blog if I did not respond within three weeks (that leaves about two weeks from now, if you’re not keeping up).

I clicked all the links that tell their robot computer that I actually am a human running a rather popular blog and would they please not shut me down. Their computer admitted that if I was clicking, most likely I was human, so not to worry.

Yet, that got me thinking: if software can be written to create spam-blogs willy-nilly, couldn’t a programmer make software that would know to click the links as a human would?

That leaves me wondering if I have done enough to save the blog. I’ll guess we’ll know in a fortnight. If it does get obliterated, I’ll pop up again elsewhere, and at that point will work to reinstate (or at least recover the links to stories) the HeraldTrib.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Debate story getting some traffic and comments…

I wrote my take on the debate hosted by the Arlington County Democratic Committee in the primary run for the House of Delegates’ 47th District. The five Democrats running for their party’s nomination to replace the retiring Al Eisenberg, covered a number of topics rather civilly (so much for my “Fighting 47th” moniker). I wrote that no one really won the debate, but I thought Adam Parkhomenko (still my First Amendment hero), lost.

That, of course, got people reading, and drew some to comment. Make sure you check it out.

The Green Party has already selected their nominee: Josh Ruebner. The Republicans have not yet fielded a candidate, and my (admittedly limited) contacts say it’s unlikely that they will. Whenever I write something like that, however, I remind myself that reporters do a much better job when they tell people what happened rather that what will happen.

Outdoor performance space a rumor…

A story in the neighborhood that the greenspace outside the Ballston Commons Mall parking garage would become a performance or presentation space of some kind for use by the mall or the Capitals is just a rumor according to Scott McPartlin, a county planner working on that space.

Arlington County is still working on potential ideas for the site which was most recently set to be a mini-golf course. Ideas that “activate” that space and that are “revenue neutral” are forthcoming, Mr. McPartlin told me yesterday.

Headlines from Earlier in the Week:

Sneak Peek at the Madison of Ballston Station (This is the big, new, four-storey building on N. Pershing Drive; formerly Buckingham Village 1).

Bethel Church to "Change the World" (starting with Buckingham).

Democrat House of Delegates Debate (This is the ACDC debate; you'll want to read this).

Police Notes April 10 to 23 (Graffiti, Theft and Police Impersonation).

Arlington Annex with Vic Socotra: Step Back in Time to the Ball-Sellers House. (Vic is back with his second installment. Up next: pools and Nazis! Let me know what you think.)

Hope Holds Rally at the Gates Center (About 50 Latinos came to support Buckinghamster Patrick Hope in his bid for the House of Delegates. Other candidates: please let me know if you're holding a public event in or near Buckingham. I'll do my best to get there. --ST

Hope Holds Rally at Gates Center

2009-04-27T08:19:00.012-05:00

Mario Flores was one of four speakers at a "Latinos for Hope" rally at the Gates of Ballston Community Center, Friday. They spoke on behalf of Patrick Hope, a ten-year Buckingham resident who is running for the Virginia House of Delegates' 47th district. The primary is June 9.

About 40 people came out Friday night to a campaign rally for Patrick Hope in his run to succeed Al Eisenberg in the Virginia House of Delegates. Mr. Hope is one of five Democrats racing to a June 9 primary to determine the party's nominee.

Patrick Hope "helps us with issues before the Arlington County Board, the Arlington Police Department," said Eva Nogales in a prepared statement.

Rosa Fuentes reminded the crowd that Mr. Hope has been the Lubber Run Community Center's Santa Claus, buying many of the presents and dressing up for the annual party over the past six years.

The event, with food and drinks, was held at the Gates of Ballston Community Center, 4108 N. 4th Road.

Other candidates: if you hold a public event in Buckingham, or nearby, please let me know. I'll make every effort to be there for coverage. Email me: heraldtrib@gmail.com. --ST

Republicans have yet to field a candidate.

Green Party is running Josh Ruebner.

Democrats will fight for their party's nomination, chosen by primary vote on June 9.

The five Democratic candidates in the race include:

Miles Grant; Patrick Hope; Alan Howze; Adam Parkhomenko; Andreas Tobar.

Full Disclosure: I have known Pat Hope for years and consider him a friend.
--ST

Step Back in Time to the Ball-Sellers Place

2009-04-26T06:08:00.013-05:00

Arlington Annex with Vic Socotra

It is not right that you have to do it by car, but that is the only good choice to get across the big road, these days. You can’t even turn left most places on Arlington Blvd. without having some busy commuter drive up your tailpipe. If you were to walk it, as the crow flies from Buckingham, I would allow about ten or fifteen minutes and a couple hundred years. No problem, really, and, if you let yourself, you might just imagine the smell of frying salt pork from an old farm stove for much of the distance.

When the Colonists began to settle this part of Virginia, they did not look east and west. They looked up from the big brown Potomac, and to the valleys carved by the water coming down the fall line. Four Mile Run is one of the more prominent valleys near Buckingham, and that is how settlers would have come up the trail from Alexandria.

In the mid 18th century, yeoman farmer John Ball built a one-room log cabin in what was the adjoining farm to the west, on the other side of the junction of Lubber and Four Mile runs.

The Ball Sellers campus, 5620 S. 3rd St. (Click to enlarge the image.)

He lived in the Colony of Virginia, in British North America. The land that he settled belonged to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron. That in itself is a story, since upon succeeding to his title and to the family’s Northern Neck Proprietary land grant, he became Lord of all the land from the Tidewater to the headwaters of the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers.

He lived out in the Shenandoah Valley until his death at the ripe old age of 92. He heard about the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

His Lordship lived much better than John Ball, though everyone likes to fix things up. Ball later added a lean-to and covered the structure with clapboard. I was astonished to find that the rude structure survives today. The cabin is a rare example of how people lived here in simpler times, and it is the oldest house in Arlington.

Ball obtained a 166-acre land grant along Four Mile Run from Lord Fairfax in 1742. He then set about clearing the land, and building the cabin from the hewn logs. He notched them and stacked them and chinked the cracks with mud plaster. If you walk over to see it, you can see the original logs with the daubing, as well as the wide plank floors. The rare oak clapboard roof is among the few board roofs preserved in the nation.

Inside the Ball Sellers house as it may have looked hundreds of years ago (with a modern convenience or two in the adjoining room). (Click to enlarge the image.)

John, his wife Elizabeth, and their five daughters lived in this little house above Four Mile Run. The rushing water provided free power for a mill, the grindstones of which are still on the property. They raised wheat and corn and provided milling services for their neighbors.

John Ball died in 1766, the year of the Declaratory Act passed in London. Through it, Parliament asserted the right to make laws for the colonies in all matters, including the settlement of estates and the sale of land. That was going to mean trouble, sooner or later.

When Ball’s meager estate was settled, a tailor named William Carlin bought the spread. His clients included notables George Washington and George Mason, and his hands would have measured the inseams of the Founding Fathers. Three generations of the Carlin family owned the property for the next century, through the Revolution and the occupation by the Union Army in the Civil War.

The Yankee army chewed through the structures of what was then bucolic Alexandria County, like locusts, for firewood and shelter, but the cabin survived. The third generation of the Carlins, brother and sister Andrew and Anne, ran a dairy farm and built the 1880 house that adjoins the Ball cabin in a neat little campus. The wisteria that grows behind the house is theirs.

This was the placid heart of old Arlington. Cows and cash crops, and a lot of quiet. If it had not been for the great paroxysm of the Yankee occupation, you could say that nothing much happened here at all.

When the Carlins sold the property in 1887, the land was subdivided into a community known today as Glencarlyn. It is the oldest subdivision in Arlington. It is composed of modest homes designed to accommodate modest people. They shoulder one another closely on streets narrower than is the custom now, though the grid is laid over the old farm that hugs the edge of the valley.

Marian Rhinehart Sellers was the last private owner of the house. She gave the house to the Arlington Historical Society in 1975. It is open for viewing most weekends, if you care to see it.

The house is located at what we call 5620 S. 3rd St., though it once was the center of a little universe. If you look it up on Google Earth, you can see exactly where the boundaries of the farm once were, just as Lord Fairfax would have known them.

We have poured a lot of concrete since then, and now channel our automobiles in assertive straight lines across the valleys, east and west. But at the Ball-Sellers place, the earth abides.

Vic is a retired spook who has an abiding interest in the people and places of Arlington. Originally from Michigan, he lives in the Buckingham neighborhood and works in Ballston.

Vic is a retired spook who has an abiding interest in the people and places of Arlington. Originally from Michigan, he lives in the Buckingham neighborhood and works in Ballston. Photos and story Copyright 2009 Vic Socotra.

Police Notes April 10 to 23

2009-04-24T09:00:00.011-05:00

Graffiti on the north side of the Eastern Carryout restaurant.

Graffiti not gang-related, police say...

Some new graffiti on a couple walls and signs has been noticed by at least a handful of people in the neighborhood, but police are neither seeing a rise in gang related activity nor in graffiti in Buckingham, the police say.

“Some of it [graffiti in Buckingham] has been on there longer than usual,” said Det. R. Ross in the gang unit (many county police officers do not provide a first name). But that is because property owners and renters sometimes get tired of dealing with it. It is the responsibility of the landlord to take care of it, though they can also make arrangements for a tenant to do so.

If a wall gets hit time and again, after awhile, “Some of the restaurant owners just don’t care,” he said. Arlington County removes graffiti on public places—street signs and sidewalks, for instance.

The Economy is the culprit...

The county’s crime rate rose about 14 percent in 2008 as compared to 2007, with thefts of electronic gadgets from cars leading the way. Shoplifting is over 50 percent higher.

In a statement from the department, Police Chief M. Douglas Scott said, “The economic downturn is certainly a factor in the jump in property crimes in our community.”

Det. Crystal Nosal in the Arlington Police Department said much of the time the cars that are hit are unlocked, often in neighborhoods where people feel safe.

“Literally, [thieves] will go from car to car to car. As you can see on some of these crime reports, they can hit six or seven unlocked cars in a row, because people leave them unlocked,” she recently wrote in an email.

Call police if you see this man...

Connie Freeman of the Buckingham Community Outreach Center said that a man acting as a federal agent is still forcing men on the Buckingham Shopping corner to hand over wallets, and the robbed men are not reporting the activity to the police for fear of their immigration status and other factors. People have told her that he is a black man under 6 feet tall wearing a DEA T-shirt. Call the non-emergency number if you see him: 703-558-2222.
Click here for the orginal police press release.

Crime Reports...

These notes are compiled from Arlington County Police Department crime reports. They cover the reports from the Buckingham, Arlington Forest and Ashton Heights neighborhoods. --ST

April 9: Larceny from Auto (Series), 4000 block of N. 9th St. Between 5:30p.m. on April 9, and 7a.m. on April 10, an unknown subject broke into at least two vehicles and stole various items. There is no suspect description.

April 10: Attempt to Disarm Police/Drunk in Public (Arrest), 3800 block of Wilson Blvd. At 6p.m., an intoxicated and disorderly male attempted to disarm a police officer of his weapon. Anthony House, 42, of no fixed address was charged with Attempting to Disarm a Law Enforcement Officer, and Drunk in Public. He was held on a $2,500 bond.

April 18: Destruction of Property (Series), 200 block of N. Glebe Road. On April 18 between 1a.m. and 9a.m., an unknown subject damaged at least three vehicles by puncturing a tire on each car. There are no known suspects.

April 18: Robbery, 700 block of N. Oakland Street. At 2a.m., a man approached police and stated that an unknown group of men stole his camera and wallet. The victim was unable to describe the suspects.

April 20: Welfare Fraud (Arrest), 4100 block of N. 3rd Road. Aisha El Amin, 46, of Arlington, was charged with felony Welfare Fraud and Forgery of a Public Record. Ms. El Amin altered documents to obtain housing grants. She was held on a $2,500 bond.

April 18: Abduction (Arrest), 400 block of N. Thomas Street. At noon, a man grabbed a woman who was walking by. He attempted to pull her to his apartment saying that he would pay her for sex. A passerby intervened and called police. Police apprehended the suspect. Mario Saquiche Vasquez, 26, of Arlington, was charged with Abduction with the Intent to Defile. He was held without bond.

April 21: Stolen Auto, 400 block of N. Park Drive. License tag number: VA 3Y1967. The motocycle was a 2004, yellow Suzuki.

April 21: Stolen Auto, 200 block of N. George Mason Drive. License tag number: VA KJG9561. The minivan was a 1993, green Plymouth Voyager.

April 22: Unlawful Entry, 400 block of N. Fillmore St. Between 10p.m. on April 21, and 7:30a.m. on April 22, an unknown subject entered a house under construction and damaged property. There is no suspect description.

No Clear Winner at the ACDC Debate

2009-04-22T15:47:00.011-05:00

Andres Tobar is quite funny. Miles Grant was often “horrified” at one thing or another. Pat Hope is a big fan of Hubert Humphrey. Alan Howze reminded us that “a rising tide raises all ships.” And Adam Parkhomenko is happy to work for $17,640 a year.

Although I don’t think there was any clear winner in last night’s debate between the five Democrats running for the House of Delegates’ 47th District (Buckingham, Ashton Heights and Arlington Forest are all inside the 47th), I thought Mr. Parkhomenko had the weakest showing. The other four have their strengths, their areas of expertise, and though it’s tough to know what they know outside those areas sometimes, it’s at least clear they have those areas.

If last night’s debate is any indication, it’s tough to see what Mr. Parkhomenko knows about public policy and the Virginia government. After the debate hosted by the Arlington County Democratic Committee, he admitted to me that he’s not a debater, and said that he thought last night’s went better than an earlier debate. However, many of his answers sounded more like post-game banter.

In six years working for Senator-turned-presidential-candidate Hillary Clinton, “I was right there in the mix” while people were “giving it everything they got.” The question asked the candidates what skills working with other people they would bring to Richmond if they won.

The Democrats are in full campaign now as they have a little more than six weeks until their June 9 primary that will determine who will run against Green Party candidate Josh Ruebner. Republicans have yet to field a candidate. Mr. Parkhomenko has the largest war chest (at nearly $49,000 he is leading the other four in donations by far), and has committed to campaigning and serving, if elected, without an outside job. Delegates are paid $17,640 per year.

Since the candidates are all Democrats, the similarities far outweighed the differences. They are for: same-sex marriage, alternative energy, improved transportation, abortion rights, and better health-care, schools and jobs. I was looking for differences in the candidates, and I spotted them mainly, as I said, in their areas of expertise:

Miles Grant: environmental policy. His best answer I thought was when the candidates were asked if they were against a new coal-fired power plant in Surry County. He was not only against that one but had lobbied against the plant in Wise County that has directly led to energy rates rising, he said. People wonder if we can afford to get off coal, but he wondered if we can afford (economically and environmentally) to stay on coal. (All the candidates were against the plant, but I liked Mr. Tobar’s answer, too, that reminded the audience that coal makes up about 25 percent of Virginia’s energy, so “We have to realize it’s going to be with us for a while longer.”)

Pat Hope: healthcare policy. Mr. Hope has been a lobbyist in the health care field for years, and that was clear last night as he cited programs in this state and others. His best answer came when asked what Virginia will have to deal with even as everyone is primarily focused on a national health-care plan. He would move to make the federal- and state-funded Medicaid program purely need-based and make sure it covers all Virginians, not just women and children as it is currently set-up, he said.

Alan Howze: all-arounder (it's not really a single area of expertise, I know). He was a staffer for former Gov. Mark Warner (D), and clearly has an understanding of many different issues from transportation to health care. No single answer of his stands out for me (he’s actually a rather subdued candidate), but he brought up the idea of “decoupling” the utility company from its profits. He believes Dominion Virginia Power has no incentive to become more efficient or to lower energy use, but decoupling profits from sales might help.

Adam Parkhomenko: prison reform. He brought this issue up many times (and used it as a way to save money for transportation projects), but I still do not have a clear idea of what he knows about this issue, or what he sees as the largest problem or best solution. To be fair, that issue was not one of the questions asked, so he had to bring it up as a tangent to other questions. His best answer may have been the one when asked what program he would import from another state to Virginia, and he cited a farm-to-market program in New York; he thought some of the grow-local, sell-local ideas would be especially helpful in industries such as wine making.

Andres Tobar: immigration issues. Mr. Tobar has had to deal with the issues surrounding immigration his entire life, as his father was from Mexico (the candidate was born in Texas); his current job is as Executive Director of the Shirlington Employment and Education Center, which largely serves an immigrant population supports. I also thought his strongest answer dealt with the question of which program from another state he would import to Virginia if possible, and he answered that he liked Maryland’s driver’s license laws. He said he was afraid that Virginia’s move to restrict licenses to legal residents only would only make illegals likely to drive without a license. “It’s a safety issue, it’s not an immigration issue.”

Republicans have yet to field a candidate.

Green Party is running Josh Ruebner.

Democrats will fight for their party's nomination, chosen by primary vote on June 9.

The five Democratic candidates in the race include:

Miles Grant; Patrick Hope; Alan Howze; Adam Parkhomenko; Andreas Tobar.

Full Disclosure: I have known Pat Hope for years and consider him a friend.
--ST